Ben Shelton has named one of his close friends as the biggest ‘trash talker’ in tennis – and even claimed he tries to engage in mind games before matches in the locker room.

The American star recently participated in a Q&A session with YouTuber Sharky in a short Instagram clip that appeared on the ATP Tour’s official account.

When asked who was the biggest trash talker, Shelton replied without much hesitation that Frances Tiafoe was the one who gave him the most psychological grief when stepping out onto the court.

“Foe [Tiafoe]. Because he’ll do it in the locker room, but he’ll do it a little bit on the court too,” Shelton said in his interview with the ATP Tour. “He’ll be like, ‘hey, man, you’re just way too good today’.”

Florida-born Shelton, ranked 15th in the world, is no stranger to using the mental side of tennis to gain an advantage. He gained notoriety for his ‘phone call’ celebration, where he pretends to hang up on his opponents, which began in 2022 after he defeated Tiafoe in the US Open quarter-final in 2022.

Shelton leads 2-1 in their overall head-to-head record, although it was Tiafoe who most recently triumphed with a 4-6, 7-5, 6-7 (5), 6-4, 6-3 victory in a thrilling showdown at Flushing Meadows.

All three of their encounters have come on American soil, with Shelton beating Tiafoe in the final to win the Houston Open in 2023.

While Shelton, 21, made note of his rival’s tactics, Tiafoe, 26, revealed he enjoys being in the company of his compatriot and relishes the banter they share on and off the court.

“You know, he’s 20, 21 years old. He’s young, funny, cracks jokes,” Tiafoe said in August. “[He’s] just about as immature as I am. We always have fun joking around and cracking jokes, for sure.”

The pair’s friendship has expanded into other parts of tennis too, with American sensation Coco Gauff, winner of the 2023 US Open women’s singles title, addressing her experience of how Shelton and Tiafoe wound each other up.

“After my match, Ben and Frances were in the cooldown area, or warmup area, and it was really just cool to see us all there,” Gauff said during her post-match press conference.

“Obviously the conversation, they already started the trash talk. I’m indifferent who wins, but I did say that Frances is a little bit upset because I said Ben had the better outfit than him.”