Bryan Shelton

Bryan Shelton
Shelton in 2023
Country (sports) United States
ResidenceGainesville, Florida[1]
Born (1965-12-22) December 22, 1965 (age 58)
Huntsville, Alabama
Height1.85 m (6 ft 1 in)[2]
Turned pro1989
Retired1997
PlaysRight-handed[2] (two-handed backhand)
Prize moneyUS$1,220,283[2]
Singles
Career record104–137
Career titles2
Highest rankingNo. 55 (March 23, 1992)[2]
Grand Slam singles results
Australian Open2R (1991)
French Open2R (1994)
Wimbledon4R (1994)
US Open2R (1989)
Doubles
Career record94–129
Career titles2
Highest rankingNo. 52 (February 28, 1994)[2]
Grand Slam doubles results
Australian Open2R (1991, 1994)
French Open3R (1990)
Wimbledon3R (1994)
US Open2R (1992, 1993, 1994)

Bryan Shelton (born December 22, 1965) is an American former college tennis coach and former professional tennis player. During his playing career, he won two singles and two doubles ATP tour titles, and reached the mixed doubles final at the 1992 French Open, partnering Lori McNeil. Shelton played collegiately for Georgia Tech from 1985 to 1988, and then played professionally from 1989 to 1997.[1]

He subsequently returned to his alma mater to coach the Georgia Tech Yellow Jackets women's tennis team,[1][3] which won the NCAA Women's Tennis Championship in 2007.[4][5][6] He then served as the head coach of the Florida Gators men's tennis team of the University of Florida, where he coached the Gators to winning the 2021 NCAA Championship. He is the only head coach to have won a national championship in both men and women's NCAA Division I Tennis.

In 2023, Shelton retired from collegiate coaching to coach his son, Ben Shelton, for the latter's professional career. The younger Shelton has also become an ATP Tour titlist, major semifinalist at the 2023 US Open, and world No. 14.

Early years

Shelton was born in Huntsville, Alabama. For high school, he attended Randolph School in Huntsville.[7] He played for the Randolph Raiders boys' tennis team, and won the Alabama high school singles championship in 1982–1984.[8]

Personal life

He is the father of tennis player Ben Shelton.[9]

College career

Shelton accepted an athletic scholarship to attend the Georgia Institute of Technology in Atlanta, Georgia, where he played for the Georgia Tech Yellow Jackets men's tennis team from 1985 to 1988. Shelton was the Atlantic Coast Conference (ACC) champion in singles in 1985, and he and teammate Richy Gilbert were the ACC champions in doubles 1986.[1] He was recognized as an All-ACC selection during each of his four seasons as a Yellow Jacket, and was named an All-American in 1988.[1] Shelton won the United States Amateur Championships in 1985.[10] He graduated from Georgia Tech with a Bachelor of Science degree in industrial engineering in 1989, and was inducted into the Georgia Tech Athletics Hall of Fame in 1993.

Professional career

Shelton won two singles titles (Newport, 1991 and 1992) during his professional career. He also reached the mixed doubles final at the 1992 French Open, partnering Lori McNeil. The right-hander reached his highest individual ranking on the ATP Tour on March 23, 1992, when he became number 55 in the world; his highest doubles ranking, 52, occurred on February 28, 1994. He was inducted into the Huntsville-Madison County Athletic Hall of Fame in 2006.[11]

Coaching

See also: 2006–07 Georgia Tech Yellow Jackets women's tennis team

Shelton officially retired from the professional tour in 1997,[1] and was named a United States Tennis Association (USTA) National Coach, a position he held from January 1998 until June 1999.[1] Shelton coached MaliVai Washington, a 1996 Wimbledon finalist.[1]

Shelton became head coach of the Georgia Tech Yellow Jackets women's tennis team in July 1999.[1] In his first season as coach at Georgia Tech, his team went to the second round of the NCAA tournament, upsetting the No. 25 Washington Huskies before falling to the No. 9 UCLA Bruins.[12] He was named ACC Coach of the Year in 2002,[1] 2005,[1][13] and 2007.[14] His 2007 team won the Yellow Jackets' third-straight ACC Championship.[14] They then won Georgia Tech's first NCAA-recognized team championship on May 22, 2007, by defeating UCLA in the finals of the NCAA Women's Tennis Championship.[4][5][6] Prior to his coaching tenure, the Georgia tech women's tennis team had never qualified for the NCAA tournament. Shelton was named the Intercollegiate Tennis Association (ITA) Coach of the Year in 2007.[15]

Shelton in 2016

On June 8, 2012, the University of Florida announced that Shelton had been hired as the new head coach of the Florida Gators men's tennis team.[16]

On June 2, 2023, Shelton announced that he was stepping down from his coaching position.[17]

Head coaching record

Statistics overview
Season Team Overall Conference Standing Postseason
Georgia Tech (Atlantic Coastal Conference) (2000–2012)
2000 Georgia Tech 14–8 4–4 T-4th NCAA Second Round
2001 Georgia Tech 11–12 4–4 5th NCAA First Round
2002 Georgia Tech 15–10 3–5 4th NCAA Second Round
2003 Georgia Tech 14–7 5–3 4th NCAA Second Round
2004 Georgia Tech 12–11 4–4 T-4th NCAA Second Round
2005 Georgia Tech 21–4 9–1 T-1st NCAA Round of 16
2006 Georgia Tech 23–6 9–2 T-1st NCAA Round of 16
2007 Georgia Tech 29–4 10–1 T-1st NCAA Champions
2008 Georgia Tech 22–6 10–1 T-1st NCAA Elite Eight
2009 Georgia Tech 18–8 9–2 T-3rd NCAA Round of 16
2010 Georgia Tech 19–10 5–5 7th NCAA Second Round
2011 Georgia Tech 13–10 5–6 T-7th NCAA Round of 16
2012 Georgia Tech 16–12 6–5 6th NCAA Round of 16
Georgia Tech: 227–108 (.678) 83–43 (.659)
Florida Gators (Southeastern Conference) (2013–2023)
2013 Florida 15–11 7–5 T-3rd NCAA First Round
2014 Florida 17–10 8–4 4th NCAA Round of 16
2015 Florida 14–9 8–4 T-4th NCAA First Round
2016 Florida 21–7 10–2 2nd NCAA Elite Eight
2017 Florida 19–10 9–3 3rd NCAA Round of 16
2018 Florida 19–10 9–3 3rd NCAA Elite Eight
2019 Florida 25–4 12–0 1st NCAA Final Four
2020 Florida 15–3 3–1 N/A NCAA season canceled due to COVID-19
2021 Florida 26–2 12–0 1st NCAA Champions
2022 Florida 23–2 12–0 1st NCAA Elite Eight
2023 Florida 14–14 5–7 T-7th NCAA First Round
Florida: 208–82 (.717) 84–25 (.771)
Total: 435–190 (.696)

      National champion         Postseason invitational champion  
      Conference regular season champion         Conference regular season and conference tournament champion
      Division regular season champion       Division regular season and conference tournament champion
      Conference tournament champion

ATP career finals

Singles (2 titles, 1 runner-up)

Legend
Grand Slam (0)
Tennis Masters Cup (0)
ATP Masters Series (0)
ATP Tour (2)
Titles by surface
Hard (0)
Clay (0)
Grass (2)
Carpet (0)
Result W/L Date Tournament Surface Opponent Score
Win 1–0 Jul 1991 Newport, U.S. Grass Argentina Javier Frana 3–6, 6–4, 6–4
Win 2–0 Jul 1992 Newport, U.S. Grass Austria Alex Antonitsch 6–4, 6–4
Loss 2–1 May 1993 Atlanta, U.S. Clay Netherlands Jacco Eltingh 6–7(1–7), 2–6

Doubles (2 titles, 1 runner-up)

Legend
Grand Slam (0)
Tennis Masters Cup (0)
ATP Masters Series (0)
ATP Tour (2)
Titles by surface
Hard (1)
Clay (1)
Grass (0)
Carpet (0)
Result W/L Date Tournament Surface Partner Opponents Score
Loss 0–1 Jul 1990 Newport, U.S. Grass United States Todd Nelson Australia Darren Cahill
Australia Mark Kratzmann 		6–7, 2–6
Win 1–1 Feb 1994 Mexico City, Mexico Clay United States Francisco Montana United States Luke Jensen
United States Murphy Jensen 		6–3, 6–4
Win 2–1 Dec 1996 Adelaide, Australia Hard Australia Patrick Rafter Australia Todd Woodbridge
Australia Mark Woodforde 		6–4, 1–6, 6–3

Singles performance timeline

Key
W  F  SF QF #R RR Q# DNQ A NH
(W) winner; (F) finalist; (SF) semifinalist; (QF) quarterfinalist; (#R) rounds 4, 3, 2, 1; (RR) round-robin stage; (Q#) qualification round; (DNQ) did not qualify; (A) absent; (NH) not held; (SR) strike rate (events won / competed); (W–L) win–loss record.
Tournament 1989 1990 1991 1992 1993 1994 1995 1996 1997 Career SR
Australian Open A A 2R 1R 1R 1R 1R A 1R 0 / 6
French Open A A A 1R 1R 2R 1R A A 0 / 4
Wimbledon 1R 3R A 3R 2R 4R 2R A A 0 / 6
U.S. Open 2R 1R 1R 1R 1R 1R 1R A A 0 / 7
Grand Slam SR 0 / 2 0 / 2 0 / 2 0 / 4 0 / 4 0 / 4 0 / 4 0 / 0 0 / 1 0 / 23

See also

References

  1. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k "Player Bio: Bryan Shelton :: Women's Tennis". RamblinWreck.com. Georgia Tech Athletic Association. Archived from the original on March 1, 2007. Retrieved May 23, 2007.
  2. ^ a b c d e "Player Profile: Bryan Shelton". ATPtennis.com. ATP Tour.
  3. ^ Player Coach Mentor, Bryan Shelton Comes Full Circle. (September 12, 2008). In The Technique. Retrieved September 11, 2010 from http://smartech.gatech.edu/bitstream/1853/24893/1/technique_v94n8_2008-09-12-sports.pdf
  4. ^ a b "Georgia Tech Wins NCAA Women's Tennis Title". RamblinWreck.com. Georgia Tech Athletic Association. May 22, 2007. Archived from the original on March 2, 2008. Retrieved May 23, 2007.
  5. ^ a b "Georgia Tech captures first NCAA women's tennis title". ESPNU. ESPN.com. May 23, 2007. Retrieved May 23, 2007.
  6. ^ a b "Georgia Tech wins women's title". Sports Illustrated. May 23, 2007. Retrieved May 23, 2007.[dead link]
  7. ^ "Tennis Champion Bryan Shelton '84 Swings By Randolph". Randolph School. April 25, 2006. Archived from the original on September 28, 2007. Retrieved May 23, 2007.
  8. ^ "AHSAA > Sports > Spring > Tennis > Tennis Records Boys & Girls". www.ahsaa.com. Retrieved April 24, 2024.
  9. ^ "Bryan Shelton on winning the championship and what's next". June 30, 2021.
  10. ^ "Hall of Fame Adds Five". Tech Topics. Georgia Tech Alumni Association. Fall 1993. Archived from the original on November 9, 2004. Retrieved May 23, 2007.
  11. ^ "HOF Member: Bryan Shelton". Huntsville-Madison County Athletic Hall of Fame. Retrieved May 23, 2007.
  12. ^ Williams, David (September 29, 2000). "Men's and women's tennis teams enter new era with fresh leadership". The Technique. Archived from the original on September 29, 2007. Retrieved May 23, 2007.
  13. ^ "Georgia Tech's Brian Shelton Named ACC Coach of the Year". USTA Southern. April 21, 2005. Retrieved May 23, 2007. [dead link]
  14. ^ a b "ACC announces All-conference Women's Tennis Team". hokiesports.com. Virginia Tech Athletics. April 19, 2007. Retrieved May 23, 2007.
  15. ^ "ITA Announces National Division I Award Winners". CSTV. May 22, 2007. Archived from the original on June 22, 2011. Retrieved May 23, 2007.
  16. ^ Robbie Andreu (June 8, 2012). "Shelton takes UF men's tennis job". The Gainesville Sun. Archived from the original on March 4, 2016. Retrieved June 11, 2012.
  17. ^ Robbie Andreu (June 2, 2023). "Family First: Shelton Steps Down as UF Coach". University of Florida. Retrieved April 7, 2024.