Ben Shelton has reached the first Grand Slam final of his career after beating fellow American Frances Tiafoe 4-6, 6-3, 6-3, 7-5 in the US Open semifinals. The 23-year-old will face Alexander Zverev on Sunday at Arthur Ashe Stadium and stands one win from becoming the first American man to take a major singles title since Andy Roddick at the 2003 US Open. The final has not yet been played.

Tiafoe takes the opening set

The all-American semifinal began with Tiafoe, who took the first set 6-4. Shelton answered at once and won the next two sets 6-3. The fourth stayed tight until late; Shelton found the decisive break and closed it 7-5. The match score was 4-6, 6-3, 6-3, 7-5.

A first Grand Slam final

The result is another step in Shelton's rapid rise. He had reached the US Open semifinals in 2023 and the Australian Open semifinals in 2025. In New York in 2026 he has gone beyond that barrier for the first time. At 23 he is now a Grand Slam finalist.

The path through New York

One defining moment came in the quarterfinals, when he eliminated defending champion Carlos Alcaraz in five sets: 6-7, 6-1, 6-3, 1-6, 7-6. The match finished at 3:33 a.m. in New York after more than four hours. After that effort, Shelton came back to beat Tiafoe in four sets.

Historical weight

Shelton is the first Black American man to reach a US Open singles final since Arthur Ashe in 1972. No American man has won a Grand Slam singles title since Roddick at the 2003 US Open — a 23-year wait. A victory on Sunday would end it. Ashe won the first Open Era US Open in 1968; this article does not report that Shelton has already won the 2026 title.

Zverev after Khachanov

The opponent will be Alexander Zverev. The German top seed beat Karen Khachanov in the other semifinal in straight sets: 6-3, 7-6(7), 7-6(6). Zverev is the reigning Roland Garros champion and has now reached three consecutive Grand Slam finals. He previously played the US Open final in 2020, losing to Dominic Thiem.

Five meetings, no Shelton wins

The head-to-head favours Zverev. The pair have met five times and the German has won all five. Sunday will nonetheless be their first meeting at a Grand Slam. Zverev needed five sets in his first two rounds in New York; he then won his next four matches without dropping a set.

Sunday, 13 September

The 2026 US Open men's singles final is scheduled for Sunday, 13 September, at Arthur Ashe Stadium at the USTA Billie Jean King National Tennis Center. The official programme lists Zverev versus Shelton at 14:00 in New York, 19:00 in the United Kingdom and 21:00 in Romania. Times remain subject to change.

Source consulted: Shelton relishing challenge of first Grand Slam final against Zverev (Reuters, 12 September 2026). Context: US Open / USTA — Shelton–Tiafoe semifinal recap. Image: Ben Shelton serving at the 2025 Australian Open, photographed by 350z33, Wikimedia Commons, CC BY-SA 4.0; this is not a photograph from the 11 September 2026 US Open semifinal.