Ben Shelton isn’t the only tennis star in his family.
Emma Shelton, the sister of the 22-year-old tennis phenom, has become a breakout star during her brother’s run at Wimbledon — and has gotten plenty of TV time during Shelton’s run at the All England Club.
It started when Shelton defeated Hungary’s Marton Fucsovics in straight sets to reach the Round of 16 on Saturday.
Following the match, Shelton gave Emma a shout-out, calling her his “lucky charm” throughout the tournament, and explained she needed more PTO from her job at Morgan Stanley to stay in London to support him.
“My sister’s here,” Shelton said after his victory on Saturday. “She’s been here for every match I’ve played in this tournament so far. She’s been the lucky charm. But she has work back in the U.S. starting on Monday. She works for Morgan Stanley.”
The crowd began booing as the camera focused on Emma, who was laughing while covering her mouth with her hands.
“Ay ay ay! Come on now,” Shelton continued. “So if any of y’all have some connects and can get her a couple extra days off, we’re gonna keep this rolling and that would be great.”
Shelton’s parents and his girlfriend, USWNT star Trinity Rodman, were seen laughing.
Emma, a former college tennis player at the University of Florida and South Carolina, is a digital virtual engagement associate at Morgan Stanley in Georgia, according to her LinkedIn profile.
She played two seasons with the Gamecocks women’s tennis team before transferring to the University of Florida, where her father serves as the head coach of the men’s team.
In the 2022-23 season, her last, Emma was a perfect 5-0 in singles play at the Bedford Cup en route to claiming the Green bracket individual title.
Shelton, chasing his first-ever singles Grand Slam, previously shared in an Instagram Story video that Emma got the first week of July off from work to support him at Wimbledon.
She was seen jumping up and down in the clip.
Emma returned to the All England Club on Monday for Ben’s fourth-round match against Italian Lorenzo Sonego, and was seen sitting with Rodman and parents Bryan and Lisa.
“[Emma’s] still around here because Ben’s urging probably helped her company, her employer … let her stay a little longer and skip a little more work,” one of the announcers said as cameras captured Shelton’s family in the stands.
The announcers also discussed the boos that came during Emma’s previous appearance.
“Were those boos just because she works back in the U.S.?” one of the announcers said.
“I am not sure,” another broadcast replied. “But you know what they, you gotta keep the rhythm going. A lot of players they like when they look up at the player’s box and see the same people seeing in the same area time and time again. So maybe for Ben it is important to see Emma with mom, dad, coach in that order.”
Shelton was up by two sets in his match against Sonego as of Monday afternoon. The fourth round is the furthest Shelton has advanced at Wimbledon.