Ben Shelton is not taking much time off after his run to the US Open final. Less than 24 hours after losing to Alexander Zverev on Sunday, he was confirmed for the United States Davis Cup team that will play the Czech Republic in Prague this week. Shelton will then join Team World for the Laver Cup in London the following weekend.
He reached a career-high No. 4 in the ATP rankings on Monday following the US Open final. It will be Shelton’s second Davis Cup appearance and first since the 2024 finals.
Also named to the U.S. squad were Learner Tien, Martin Damm, Christian Harrison and Austin Krajicek. Taylor Fritz and Tommy Paul withdrew. Shelton will anchor the team as its highest-ranked player.
The series will be played Friday and Saturday at the O2 Arena in Prague on indoor hard courts in a best-of-five format. The winning team advances to the finals in Bologna, Italy, in November.
New faces
Tien and Damm received their first Davis Cup nominations. Tien, 20, reached the fourth round of the US Open. Damm, 22, pushed eventual US Open semifinalist Frances Tiafoe to five sets in the first round before losing.
The Czech squad
The Czech Republic named Jakub Mensik, Jiri Lehecka, Tomas Machac and Vit Kopriva to their squad.
The broader Davis Cup weekend
Zverev will play for Germany, which hosts Croatia in Halle, before joining Team Europe for the Laver Cup. Other ties qualifying nations for the Bologna finals include Chile against Spain, Britain against Ecuador, Austria against Belgium, South Korea against India, and Canada against France.
In all, 52 nations are competing across the various Davis Cup levels this weekend. Among the big names representing their countries are Alex de Minaur for Australia, Stefanos Tsitsipas for Greece and Casper Ruud for Norway.
Stan Wawrinka will make his final appearance for Switzerland in a World Group I tie against Brazil. A 2014 Davis Cup champion with Switzerland, Wawrinka has announced he will retire at the end of the year.
