Before the Trophies, There Were Two Years of College Tennis

Ben Shelton did not step off a junior circuit straight into the pro ranks. Before he turned pro, Shelton spent two seasons playing collegiate tennis, the kind of grounding this town's own junior players and their coaches at the club courts know well: match play, a team behind you, a season with a schedule instead of a single tournament to chase. It is the path plenty of Palm Beach's own rising players still follow, and in Shelton's case, it was the run-up to the tour, not a detour from it.

With reporting from Town & Country.