BEN SHELTON broke down in tears after he was forced to retire from the US Open.
The American tennis star was visibly emotional on Louis Armstrong after pulling out injured.
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He was drawing 2-2 in sets against Adrian Mannarino when the devastating shoulder problem was too much to handle.
His dad came on to the court to tell his son to retire and fight another day.
Shelton was leading 2-1 in sets when he screamed in pain during a forehand shot.
That came in game two of the fourth set in the third-round encounter.
He instantly grabbed his upper left shoulder, wincing in agony, three hours into the clash.
The 22-year-old called the trainer on court and had treatment on his chair.
He popped a painkiller to try and get over his anguish.
The brave star tried to continue, and was fighting through the pain barrier.
However, it was too much to handle, and there were fears over long-term damage.
“It’s not worth it,” his former professional tennis player dad Bryan told him from courtside.
Frenchman Mannarino now gets a bye to the fourth-round.
Shelton’s upset came at his home Grand Slam at the US Open in Flushing Meadows, Queens, New York.
It was a sad end for the No6 seed, the highest-ranked male player in the draw.
It is a disappointing end to his breakout season on the court.
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The 2025 US Open takes place from Sunday 24 August to Sunday 7 September.
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Veteran Mannarino, 37, now plays Czech No20 seed Jiri Lehecka, and he only found out he had progressed to the last 16 for the first time in his career when he emerged from a toilet break before the last set was due to start.
Shelton, who had 2-1 in sets, sat down and started crying and after a clear instruction from his dad to call it quits, he told the umpire that he was done.
He left the court to a standing ovation from home fans, with a towel draped over his head as he continued to sob down the corridor to the arena.
The Georgia-born, Florida-based ace – who is dating soccer player Trinity Rodman – waited for Mannarino to return from his comfort break and then shook hands with his opponent.
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Mannarino, who is ranked 77 in the world, said: “I’m 37 years old, it’s my first time winning a match from the toilet!
“Always new things coming up. I am still enjoying my time on court. I hope I am going to extend it for a little while.
“Of course, when he started to have pain he was leading in the match. Honestly he would have probably won that match.
“That’s unfortunate for me and very lucky for me. Yeah, I don’t really know what to say. Of course, I’m happy to get through. I wish him all the best.
“I was having good fun on the court, some really long rallies. I won some of them. I lost some of them. It was a pretty cool match to play.
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“Ben is playing really well. He kicked my arse in the beginning of the summer. He’s such an amazing player. It was a great match.
“Even when I was losing, it was a pretty cool match. Thanks to all you guys for being nice with me.”
