Champion Australian tennis coach Roger Rasheed bit off more than he could chew at the Australian Open on Monday when an attempted dad joke went wrong on live TV.
Rasheed was tasked with interviewing rising American star Ben Shelton after he progressed to the quarter finals following his victory over veteran French star Gael Monfils.
Monfils withdrew through exhaustion while trailing 7-6 (7-3) 6-7 (7-3) 6-6 (7-2) 1-0.
Rasheed, famous for being Lleyton Hewitt’s coach, also spent time as a mentor for 38-year-old Monfils during his playing career.
Shelton and Monfils have also established a powerful bromance on the world tennis tour, which prompted Rasheed to poke fun at the age difference between the two good friends.
But it all backfired in spectacular fashion.
Ben Shelton and Roger Rasheed saw the funny side of their interaction about the Shelton and Gael Monfils bromance
Shelton’s dad Bryan was also spotted having a laugh about the joke courtside
‘He’s an entertainer, what does he mean to you? He’s almost your dad,’ Rasheed said, referring to the age gap between the two.
‘Not really, sorry Bryan [father and coach Bryan Shelton]. You stay there, I’m going to get to you.
‘Talk to us a little bit about Gael.’
What Shelton said in reply put Rasheed firmly on the back foot.
‘Was that a black joke?’ Shelton said with a broad smile.
‘I’m not sure, I’m not sure,’ Rasheed stammered as the crowd groaned.
As Shelton’s father laughed at his son’s reply, Rasheed then said, ‘Let’s not go there.’
Shelton helped clear things up in his post-match media conference, saying he had no issue with Rasheed or the interview.
Shelton and Monfils are extremely close friends despite their age difference
Shelton, pictured with his coach and dad Bryan, has surged into the Australian Open quarter finals with a bit of help from his booming serve
‘No, no, the guy just said, “He’s old enough to be your dad”. Then he made a comment, “Oh, maybe he is your dad”,’ Shelton said.
‘Probably just a stupid comment that I shouldn’t have said but I thought it was funny in the moment.’
‘I don’t think — I hope the guy didn’t take it in any sort of way. I know that my dad thought it was pretty funny. But, yeah, I guess I apologise for that.
‘No, I didn’t take it any way. I know he didn’t — he probably didn’t mean it any way to me. I hope he didn’t mean it in any way like that.
‘I guess I probably should keep my mouth shut more.’
But many tennis fans felt Shelton had nothing to apologise for.
‘It’s crazy that he even felt the need to apologise, I thought it was obvious he was joking,’ one posted on X.
‘For anyone who’s about to be weird about this, Ben was asked about it in his press conference and cleared up that he was joking and assumed the other person was too, even apologised and said he should keep his mouth shut more, but that it was all light hearted fun,’ added another.
‘How is this cringe? These kinds of laid back/joking around on-court interviews happen at every tournament. Especially when you have someone with the personality of Shelton,’ another fan commented.
Others said there was a cultural divide in the exchange, with Shelton’s joke more commonly understood in the United States than in Australia.
‘This is peak American humour lol. ‘Why because I’m black?’ Make the other person squirm,’ one fan pointed out.
‘As a black person I stay making jokes like that to my non black friends and I live for their reactions,’ added another.
It is not the first time that Shelton has been roped into issues around race.
In 2024, Shelton and Frances Tiafoe both had their attitudes questioned after early exits from the Australian Open, with fans claiming the intense scrutiny was ‘anti-black’.
‘Not sure if it’s racism, a lack of experience playing competitive sports, just being a hater, or a combo of all 3, but the hatred that Ben/Frances get simply for bringing a mentality to tennis that doesn’t fit the Eastern European stoicism stereotype is ultimate loser behavior,’ read one post on X.
‘The pearl clutching reactions to Frances Tiafoe/Ben Shelton are blatantly anti black: ‘Cocky’, ‘brat’ ‘put them in their place/humble them’, ‘NBA’? Yes you’d like attitude to match results, but many of these are vitriolic. Unhinged behavior,’ another posted.
Shelton paid tribute to his good friend Monfils after the walkover victory ended the French star’s Australian Open in the worst way possible.
‘I’ve been watching him since I was a kid,’ Shelton said.
‘He has the greatest highlight reel of all time and you all got to see that tonight.
‘He is a great guy.
‘At 38 [years], I hope to still be walking without crutches.
‘To push me like he did today and to entertain in New Zealand and Australia the way he has over the last two weeks is so impressive.
‘I hope to be able to create some memories like that at that age because it’s really special and unheard of in sport.’
And Monfils shared the love as well, honouring his good friend and rival.
‘I love Ben, I love him,’ Monfils said in his post-match media conference.
‘This kid is amazing. He’s full of energy. He’s a great guy. Great kid.
‘It’s always too bad to play someone that you love. But we put the fighting spirit.
‘That’s why I wanted to make it tough for him. But at the end, you know, of course now I’m rooting for him.
‘He’s a guy that I really appreciate spending time with him, talking with him, sharing anything we love.
‘And he’s just an amazing kid.’
Shelton, 22, will face Lorenzo Sonego, who ensured there would be two Italian men’s quarter-finalists at the Australian Open for only the second time.
