The spring season for Florida tennis may be over, but the legacy of their men's and women's programs is still alive, with two former Gators competing in the first round of the 2025 French Open.
On Sunday and Monday, former Gators Ben Shelton and McCartney Kessler competed in the first round of the Grand Slam tournament in the men's and women's singles brackets, respectively. Shelton secured victory in a five-set thriller, while Kessler lost in straight sets. She looks ahead to the doubles competition with her first-round match on Wednesday.
Ben Shelton advances
Hailing from Atlanta, Georgia, Shelton made his third appearance in the Roland Garros.
The 22-year-old was a key player during the Gators men's tennis team's 2021 NCAA National Championship run in his freshman year. Over the course of the season, he won SEC Freshman of the Week twice, finished as an All-Freshman SEC Team member, and won an ITA-All-American Tournament Singles Champion.
In his sophomore year, Shelton thrived to an NCAA 2022 Singles title. During the season, the Atlanta native registered a 37-5 singles record, was named the 2022 ITA National Player of the Year, SEC Player of the Year and 2022 SEC Tournament MVP.
Shelton’s dominance secured his spot in the 2023 US Open, where he excelled on a global stage. The then 20-year-old had an impressive run to the semifinals, where he defeated ranked opponents No. 14 Tommy Paul and No. 10 Frances Tiafoe. The hard-serving Shelton fell to No. 2 Novak Djokovic in the semifinals.
Since this breakout performance, he’s been a consistent name in the professional tennis circuit.
The 2025 French Open marked Shelton's third consecutive appearance in the tournament. In 2023, Shelton went home in the first round to Lorenzon Sonego, and in 2024, the American reached the third round as the No. 15 seed.
This year, Shelton has continued to grow. His performance on the circuit was highlighted by an impressive run in the Australian Open, where Shelton made it to the semifinals but fell short of No. 1 and tournament champion Jannik Sinner.
To kick off his 2025 French Open campaign in men's singles, Shelton took on Sonego. The Turin, Italy, native eliminated Shelton in the first round of the 2023 tournament. Since the match, Shelton defeated Sonego the last two times they faced off, including an appearance in the quarterfinals of the 2025 Australian Open.
The match was played on court seven, the first time Shelton made an appearance in the Philippe-Chatrie. After the match, Shelton shared how special it was for him and how, at first, he thought it was a typo, that he could not believe his eyes.
"It definitely won't be one I forget," Shelton said.
A ceremony for legend Rafael Nadal took place prior to the match, setting the stage for a tight contest.
Shelton took the first set 6-4, but Sonego fought back to win the following two sets 6-4, 6-3. With his back against the wall, Shelton came alive. The American took the fourth set, 6-2 and prevailed in the fifth set, 6-3, to punch his ticket into the second round of the men's singles bracket.
Shelton shared his appreciation for his opponent after the match.
"I love sharing the court with [Sonego]," Shelton said. "I know he's a big match player, a Grand Slam player, and you guys saw some of the hot shots tonight."
The former Gator said winning on the court late at night was "a dream come true" for him.
Next, Shelton will face Hugo Gaston of Toulouse, France. Gaston and Shelton met in the first round of last year's tournament, where the Florida product won in four sets.
McCartney Kessler falls short
From Calhoun, Georgia, Kessler joined the Gators in 2017-2018, following the team's latest NCAA Title.
Kessler was a star during her time as a Gator.
The No. 10 recruit in the 2017 class finished her five seasons 106-44 in singles and 75-54 in doubles. She was a member of the All-Freshman SEC and First Team All-SEC teams in her freshman year. Kessler finished her time at UF as a two-time ITA All-American in singles, 2021 ITA All-American in doubles and 2022 SEC Player of the Year.
Since she finished her collegiate career, Kessler has grown in the professional circuit. Overall, the Calhoun native has registered a 153-83 career singles record, with two titles.
Kessler has made significant strides in 2025 so far.
In January, she won the Hobart International, defeating four top-ranked opponents. The early success gave Kessler the confidence to cruise to a 21-13 single record while making her first appearance in the elimination rounds of the Australian and French Opens. In March, she reached the third round of the Miami Open after defeating No. 30 Linda Noskova.
Kessler's first appearance in the Roland Garros came against Elena-Gabriela Ruse of Bucharest, Romania. Ruse entered the contest with a 16-8 singles record on the year and an impressive performance at the 2025 Miami Open, where she exited in the third round to tournament winner Aryna Sabalenka.
Monday's contest started with the two tied at 4-apiece in the first set. After Kessler won the next game, Ruse took back control, winning the next three games to win the first set 7-5.
The loss appeared to affect Kessler in the second set, where she trailed 3-0. The American was able to take a 6-5 lead, but once again, Ruse came back to force a superset tiebreaker and take the tiebreaker 7-3 to secure the second set 7-6 and her ticket into the second round of the tournament.
Kessler will still compete at Roland Garros and face off in the women's doubles tournament alongside the Netherlands' Suzan Lamens. The tandem is matched up against Chinese Taipei's Hao-Ching Chan and Giuliana Olmos of Mexico at midnight ET Wednesday.
Contact Jeffrey Serber at Jserber@alligator.org. Follow him on X @JeffreySerber.
Jeffrey is the Summer 2025 women's tennis beat reporter and a second-year journalism sports & media major. In his free time, he enjoys hanging out with friends and family, and rooting for the Miami sports teams.
