The Gators Men’s Tennis program has nine players who competed in pro tournaments this summer and many have improved in the ATP rankings.
GAINESVILLE, Fla. – Alumni of the Gators Men’s Tennis program have competed all over the world in several pro tournaments this past summer. Many of the players saw changes in their ATP rankings and have shown improvement in their overall performances.
The Gator greats include Ben Shelton, Diego Hidalgo, Johannes Ingildsen, Oliver Crawford, Andres “Andy” Andrade, Alfredo Perez, Abdullah Shelbayh, Will Grant and Axel Nefve. Each of these players have contributed to the program in big ways, with four athletes being members of the 2021 National Championship. In their pro careers, each athlete has made some headway in their rankings with many of them improving.
One of the biggest names in the tennis world at the moment is Ben Shelton for his powerful serves, entertaining celebrations and overall performance in the pro tournaments. This summer alone, Shelton made his first quarterfinal appearance at Wimbledon where he faced off against No. 1 Jannik Sinner for the second time this year and made it to the Round of 16 at Roland Garros where he faced off against No. 2 Carlos Alcaraz. Shelton has also played in several other ATP tournaments, including the Mubadala Citi DC Open, the Mallorca Championships and the Boss Open in Germany to name a few. Shelton’s performances in these summer tournaments have propelled him to becoming No. 7 in the world in three short weeks.
Other Gators to improve their rankings throughout the summer have been Crawford, Andrade, Perez, Grant and Nefve. Crawford and Perez both moved up three rankings, Andrade moved up eight rankings, Grant moved up five rankings and Nefve moved up ten rankings. While they may not be playing in Grand Slam Tournaments, each player is making it far into the ITF, ATP and Challenger Tour tournaments.
These Gators can be expected to compete in upcoming tournaments like the US Open taking place Aug. 24 to Sept. 7, 2025, the Laver Cup taking place Sept. 19-21, 2025, and several other ITF and ATP tournaments around the world.
Updated Rankings
Athlete
Time with the Program
ATP Ranking
Ben Shelton
2020-2022
7 (Singles)
Diego Hidalgo
2013 – 2016
76 (Doubles)
Johannes Ingildsen
2016-2021
133 (Doubles)
Oliver Crawford
2017-2020
229 (Singles)
Andres “Andy” Andrade
2017-2022
251 (Singles)
Alfredo Perez
2015-2019
293 (Singles)
Abdullah Shelbayh
2021-2022
386 (Singles)
Will Grant
2020-2023
698 (Singles)
Axel Nefve
2022-2023
900 (Singles)
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