Belgium's Raphael Collignon stuns Ben Shelton at French Open

Raphael Collignon turned Ben Shelton’s biggest strength into a liability, breaking the fifth seed at key moments and never letting the American’s serve dictate the match in a 6-4, 7-5, 6-4 win at Roland Garros.

The unseeded Belgian, ranked No. 62 when the tournament began, needed just 2 hours, 3 minutes to secure the first Top-5 victory of his career and reach the third round of a major for only the second time. Collignon was efficient under pressure, winning 43 of 49 first-serve points and facing no break points as he kept Shelton from building the long service holds that often rescue power players on clay.

This was not a fluke of one hot patch. Collignon, 24, came into Paris in strong form after reaching the final of the ATP Challenger 175 event in Bordeaux earlier in May and carried a 2026 match record of 27-8 across all levels, according to ATP. The ITF listed him at 26-8 with a 13-2 clay record before Roland Garros, a reminder that his comfort on the surface had been building long before he stepped onto Court Suzanne-Lenglen.

Shelton, meanwhile, was trying to make a third straight run to the third round in Paris after reaching the last 16 in 2025 and testing eventual champion Carlos Alcaraz in four sets. Instead, Collignon repeatedly found ways to slow the rhythm, extend rallies and force Shelton into more complicated point construction than the American usually prefers. ATP said Collignon finished with 30 winners and 13 unforced errors, a clean balance that reflected how well he protected his own service games after each break.

The upset also sharpened the sense that this French Open is wide open. Jannik Sinner fell in five sets on the same day, leaving the draw even more vulnerable and opening a path in the top quarter that no longer looked built around the highest seeds. Collignon’s next opponent will be Matteo Arnaldi, who had just beaten 2021 French Open finalist Stefanos Tsitsipas in another upset.

For Belgian tennis, the result carried added weight. Roland-Garros noted that Collignon became the first Belgian to beat a top-five player at a Slam since his coach, Steve Darcis, stunned Rafael Nadal at Wimbledon in 2013. Darcis, Belgium’s Davis Cup captain since 2023, has helped guide Collignon to five ATP Challenger titles, a career-high ranking of No. 59 and a US Open third-round showing in 2025. With countryman Zizou Bergs in the crowd and visible Belgian support around Court Suzanne-Lenglen, Collignon produced a breakthrough that may travel well beyond Paris.