Ben Shelton Is Ready to Go Global

Shelton, 20, is already ranked in the top 100 after a late-season surge last year. Now, he’s embarking on his first full season on tour and his first trip outside the United States.

Ben Shelton made the biggest leap into the year-end top 100 of any men’s singles player in 2022.Credit...Loren Elliott/ReutersMELBOURNE, Australia — Pro tennis is one of the most international sports, but the American Ben Shelton has only just become global.

This Australian Open, which starts on Monday, is part of his first trip outside the United States. His passport is in mint condition; his eyes are almost as big as his lefty serve.

“A whole lot of blue; it almost doesn’t look real,” Shelton said as he walked…