Ben Shelton becomes the new BOSS at the Weissenhof

Top seed Ben Shelton defeated defending champion Taylor Fritz 6-4, 2-6, 6-4 in an all-American final to capture the BOSS OPEN title.

For Shelton, it was not only his third tournament victory of the season, but also his third on a different surface. The 23-year-old lifted the trophy on clay in Munich and on hard court in Dallas earlier this year – where he also defeated Taylor Fritz in the final. With his victory in Stuttgart, Shelton improved his head-to-head record against Fritz to 3-1. Alongside Jannik Sinner, Shelton is now the only player to have won three ATP titles in 2026.

The world No. 5 made a flying start to the championship match. Shelton broke serve immediately for a 2-1 lead. Fritz had three opportunities to break back in the following game but was unable to convert any of them. The defending champion was handed another chance at 4-3, holding two more break points, yet Shelton once again came up with the answers before serving out the opening set 6-4.

The momentum shifted completely in the second set. Fritz secured an early break for 2-0 and added another late break on his way to a commanding 6-2 set win. At one set all, the defending champion appeared to have seized control of the contest.

In the deciding set, however, Fritz failed to capitalize on his opportunities. Leading 3-2, the world No. 9 had two chances that could have put him firmly in charge, but Shelton escaped both times. At 4-4, it was Fritz who suddenly came under pressure. Shelton converted his first break point of the set and then comfortably served out the match after 1 hour and 48 minutes.

A remarkable side note: Shelton had already been on the brink of elimination twice during the tournament. In the round of 16 against fellow American Marcos Giron, he saved one match point. In the semi-finals against Czech star Jiri Lehecka, he fought off two more. Yet the American ultimately claimed the sixth ATP title of his career.

Shelton also entertained the crowd during the trophy ceremony. Looking at the golden confetti raining down on Centre Court, he joked: “It’s going to be a nightmare getting this court cleaned up.”

The new BOSS OPEN champion also jokingly apologized to the ball kids with a smile: “I know there were a few rockets coming your way today. I’d like to apologize to everyone I hit with serves this week.”

Shelton reserved special praise for Fritz. “What you’ve done for American tennis can’t be appreciated enough,” he said. “Your career has been incredible and it’s far from over. I know you get better and better on grass every week, and I’m really excited to see what you can do over the next few weeks.”

Fritz, gracious in defeat, said he was simply “happy to have made the final here.” He also thanked his team for supporting him through what he described as a difficult period marked by injuries over recent months.

“He deserves it,” Fritz said of Shelton. “His path to the final was incredibly tough. Because of the weather, he had to come back and play multiple times on the same day. That says a lot about the kind of player he is.”

Both finalists also expressed their gratitude to the Stuttgart crowd, who continued to support the players throughout a weather-affected week.

“It really wasn’t easy with the weather this year,” said Fritz. “But the support all week was amazing. The energy at this tournament is simply incredible.”