NEW YORK (AP) — Ben Shelton had just acrobatically taken the third set of his U.S. Open third-round match, getting up from a tumble to the court during the point and then throwing his left arm into the air to encourage cheers after he won it.
Just minutes later, he began feeling pain that would ultimately force him to stop playing during a match for the first time in his career.
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Adrian Mannarino, of France, returns a shot to Ben Shelton, of the United States, during the third round of the U.S. Open tennis championships, Friday, Aug. 29, 2025, in New York. (AP Photo/Kirsty Wigglesworth)
Ben Shelton, of the United States, reacts after a rally against Adrian Mannarino, of France, during the third round of the U.S. Open tennis championships, Friday, Aug. 29, 2025, in New York. (AP Photo/Kirsty Wigglesworth)
Ben Shelton, of the United States, reacts on the bench before retiring against Adrian Mannarino, of France, during the third round of the U.S. Open tennis championships, Friday, Aug. 29, 2025, in New York. (AP Photo/Kirsty Wigglesworth)
Trainers work on Ben Shelton, of the United States, during a break in play against Adrian Mannarino, of France, during the third round of the U.S. Open tennis championships, Friday, Aug. 29, 2025, in New York. (AP Photo/Kirsty Wigglesworth)
The No. 6-seeded Shelton quit after losing the fourth set Friday against Adrian Mannarino because of a left shoulder injury, and No. 17 Frances Tiafoe lost shortly after to leave just two U.S. men remaining of the 23 who began the tournament.
Speaking quietly and without many specifics, Shelton said he couldn't pinpoint what caused the injury or what it was. He had never stopped in 178 professional matches.
“Usually, I’ll play through anything and just kind of find a way,” he said. “And whether it’s sickness or injury, like, if I can stay out there, I can stay out there. I never felt anything like this before.”
Shelton landed on his left arm after lunging to track down a ball in the corner on the final point to win the third set. Early in the fourth, the 2023 U.S. Open semifinalist began wincing and said to his coach's box: “I did something to my shoulder. I don’t know what it is."
He received treatment in the middle of the set, where the trainer rubbed some cream on his left shoulder, and tried to shorten the points afterward by consistently attacking the net. But after Mannarino won the set, Shelton was visited again by the trainer and called off the match, leaving the court with a towel over his head and tears in his eyes.
Mannarino, a 37-year-old from France, ended up with his first victory in 23 career against matches against top-10 players in Grand Slam tournaments.
“When he started to have pain, he was leading in the match,” Mannarino said. “Honestly, he would have probably won that match.”
Shelton was certainly a heavy favorite in it after coming in with a 14-2 record this summer on hard courts and winning the title in Toronto, where he routed Mannarino early in the tournament.
“I was playing really well. I was in form, a lot of confidence,” Shelton said. “Just so many things to be happy with the way that I was playing, moving on the court, competing.”
He was one of the best hopes to give the U.S. its first men's major champion since Andy Roddick won the 2003 U.S. Open. So was Tiafoe, who had reached the semifinals in Flushing Meadows in two of the previous three years. He was eliminated with a 6-4, 6-3, 7-6 (7) loss to German qualifier Jan-Lennard Struff.
Tiafoe was trying to become the first American man since Andre Agassi from 1994-99 to reach the fourth round of the U.S. Open for six straight years.
“It’s going to be hard to swallow how I played today and being out of the U.S. Open, for sure, this early,” Tiafoe said.
Only No. 4 Taylor Fritz, last year's runner-up who beat Swiss qualifier Jerome Kym in four sets Friday night, and No. 14 Tommy Paul remain among American men.
Shelton's left-handed serve is one of the most powerful in tennis, and his 140-mph ace in the first set matched the third-fastest of this U.S. Open.
He still was able to crank up some hard ones after the injury, but repeatedly grabbed at the shoulder after — or even in the midst of — points.
Bryan Shelton, his father and coach, told the 22-year-old to come forward, hoping to end the points quickly. Shelton had 13 serve-and-volley points in the fourth set after only three in the first three sets, and he was at the net for a missed volley when Mannarino broke him for a 4-3 lead in the fourth.
Shelton fought off four set points in his next service game before Mannarino held to win the set. The No. 77-ranked Mannarino left the court for a bathroom break as Shelton sat on his bench, with his father motioning his arms to tell his son to call it off, which he did when Mannarino returned.
“I’m 37 years old,” Mannarino said. “It’s the first time I’m winning a match from the toilet.”
AP tennis: https://apnews.com/hub/tennis
Adrian Mannarino, of France, returns a shot to Ben Shelton, of the United States, during the third round of the U.S. Open tennis championships, Friday, Aug. 29, 2025, in New York. (AP Photo/Kirsty Wigglesworth)
Ben Shelton, of the United States, reacts after a rally against Adrian Mannarino, of France, during the third round of the U.S. Open tennis championships, Friday, Aug. 29, 2025, in New York. (AP Photo/Kirsty Wigglesworth)
Ben Shelton, of the United States, reacts on the bench before retiring against Adrian Mannarino, of France, during the third round of the U.S. Open tennis championships, Friday, Aug. 29, 2025, in New York. (AP Photo/Kirsty Wigglesworth)
Trainers work on Ben Shelton, of the United States, during a break in play against Adrian Mannarino, of France, during the third round of the U.S. Open tennis championships, Friday, Aug. 29, 2025, in New York. (AP Photo/Kirsty Wigglesworth)
GUANARE, Venezuela (AP) — Freedom came too late for Edilson Torres.
The police officer was buried Tuesday in his humble, rural hometown following his death in a Venezuelan prison, where he was held incommunicado since being detained in December on what his family said were politically motivated accusations.
Torres, 51, died of a heart attack Saturday, just as his family awaited the government's promised release of prisoners following the U.S. capture of then-President Nicolás Maduro. The loss left his family reeling.
Now scores of families — who once hesitated to approach advocacy groups — are coming forward to register their loved ones as “political prisoners" in the hope that they might have a more optimistic future than Torres.
Foro Penal, which tracks and advocates for Venezuelan prisoners, has received a “flood of messages” from families since last week, said Alfredo Romero, director of the nongovernmental organization.
“They didn’t report it out of fear, and now they’re doing it because, in a way, they feel that there is this possibility that their families will be freed,” Romero said. “They see it as hope, but more importantly, as an opportunity.”
The head of Venezuela’s national assembly, Jorge Rodríguez, said last week that a “significant number” of Venezuelan and foreigners imprisoned in the country would be released as a gesture to “seek peace” following the operation that captured Maduro in the early hours of Jan. 3. The U.S. and Venezuela's opposition have long demanded the widespread release of detained opposition figures, activists and journalists, whom they claim are used as a political tool by the ruling party.
Venezuela’s government denies that there are prisoners unjustly detained, accusing them of plotting to destabilize Maduro’s government.
Following Torres' death, Venezuela's Attorney General Tarek William Saab said in a statement that the case had been assigned to a terrorism unit and “was linked to criminal activities detected by state security agencies.” He did not offer any details, but the vague language tracks with past accusations leveled against real or perceived government critics.
Romero said that of the roughly 300 families who reached out to Foro Penal, about 100 cases so far have been confirmed as politically motivated. Most of those reported over the past few days, he said, once worked for Venezuela's military. That is on top of more than 800 people that the organization says continue to be detained for political reasons in Venezuela.
As of Tuesday evening, Foro Penal had confirmed 56 prisoners it said were detained for political reasons had been freed. The group criticized the lack of government transparency over the releases. Venezuela’s government negated the organization's count, and reported a far higher figure of 400 Tuesday afternoon.
But the government did not provide evidence of the releases, a time range in which they were carried out nor identify those freed, making it impossible to determine whether those freed were behind bars for political or other reasons.
Before Torres' funeral on Tuesday, a procession of cars and motorcycles stopped at a local jail, where his wife remains detained on disputed accusations.
“My little brother, my little brother,” Emelyn Torres said between sobs after his casket, cloaked in Venezuela's flag, arrived at her home for the wake. A few feet away, their grandmother nearly fainted as dozens of people crammed into the living room to pay their respects.
Hours earlier, as a minivan transported the body of her brother 267 miles (430 kilometers) from the capital, Caracas, to Guanare, Torres learned that other men linked to the WhatsApp group that led to her brother's arrest had just been released from prison. She wailed.
Among those who have been released are: human rights attorney Rocío San Miguel, who immediately relocated to Spain; Biagio Pilieri, an opposition leader who was part of Nobel Peace Prize winner María Corina Machado’s 2024 presidential campaign; and Enrique Márquez, a former electoral authority and presidential candidate.
Italian businessman Marco Burlò, who was released from prison Monday, told reporters outside a Rome airport Tuesday that he was kept isolated throughout his detention, which he characterized as a “pure and real kidnapping.”
“I can’t say that I was physically abused, but without being able to talk to our children, without the right to defense, without being able to speak to the lawyer, completely isolated, here they thought that I might have died,” he said.
The small set of releases over the past few days continues to fuel criticisms by families, human rights watchdogs at the United Nations and U.S. politicians, who have accused the government of not following through on their word of a wider release.
But the rapid political shifts in the Latin American nation and the distant possibility of release simultaneously marked a rare moment of hope for many families who have spent years wondering if their loved ones would ever be freed.
Part of the reason that Romero said he believed so many people had not come forward is the government's ongoing crackdown on dissent since Venezuela's tumultuous 2024 election, which Maduro claimed to have won despite ample credible evidence to the contrary.
As mass street protests broke out, authorities said they detained more than 2,000 people. In the month after July elections, Venezuela's government passed a law — dubbed the “anti-NGO law” by critics — making it easier for the government to criminalize human rights groups.
That had a chilling effect, Romero said, making families hesitant to come forward — until now.
Janetsky reported from Mexico City.
Follow AP’s coverage of Latin America and the Caribbean at https://apnews.com/hub/latin-america
Relatives of political prisoners gather at the Central University of Venezuela to call for their release in Caracas, Venezuela, Tuesday, Jan. 13, 2026. (AP Photo/Matias Delacroix)
Jacklin Ibarreto, whose father Miguel Ibarreto is detained, lays out photos of political prisoners at the Central University of Venezuela in Caracas, Venezuela, Tuesday, Jan. 13, 2026. (AP Photo/Matias Delacroix)
Members of a motorcycle club, friends of Edilson Torres, a Venezuelan police officer who died in prison a month after being arrested on accusations of treason, carry his coffin at a cemetery in Guanare, Venezuela, Tuesday, Jan. 13, 2026. (AP Photo/Ariana Cubillos)
Relatives stand by the coffin of Edilson Torres, a Venezuelan police officer who died in prison a month after being arrested on accusations of treason, in Guanare, Venezuela, Tuesday, Jan. 13, 2026.. (AP Photo/Ariana Cubillos)
Relatives of Edilson Torres, a Venezuelan police officer who died in prison a month after being arrested on accusations of treason, gather around his grave during his funeral in Guanare, Venezuela, Tuesday, Jan. 13, 2026. (AP Photo/Ariana Cubillos)
Students lay out photos of people they consider political prisoners at the Central University of Venezuela in Caracas, Venezuela, Tuesday, Jan. 13, 2026. (AP Photo/Matias Delacroix)
Jacklin Ibarreto, whose father Miguel Ibarreto is detained, waits outside the Rodeo I prison in Guatire, Venezuela, Friday, Jan. 9, 2026, after National Assembly President Jorge Rodriguez said the government would release Venezuelan and foreign prisoners. (AP Photo/Matias Delacroix)
Relatives and friends of political prisoners hold candles calling for their loved ones to be set free outside the Rodeo I prison in Guatire, Venezuela, Friday, Jan. 9, 2026 after the government announced prisoners would be released. (AP Photo/Matias Delacroix)
Relatives stand beside the coffin during the wake of Edilson Torres, a Venezuelan police officer who died in prison a month after being arrested on accusations of treason, in Guanare, Venezuela, Tuesday, Jan. 13, 2026. (AP Photo/Ariana Cubillos)
El Helicoide, the headquarters of Venezuela's intelligence service and detention center, stands in Caracas, Venezuela, Friday, Jan. 9, 2026, after National Assembly President Jorge Rodriguez said the government would release Venezuelan and foreign prisoners. (AP Photo/Ariana Cubillos)
Students lay out photos of people they consider political prisoners at the Central University of Venezuela in Caracas, Venezuela, Tuesday, Jan. 13, 2026. (AP Photo/Matias Delacroix)
Flor Zambrano, whose son, Rene Chourio, she says is detained at Zone 7 of the Bolivarian National Police for political reasons, embraces relatives of other detainees outside the facility in Caracas, Venezuela, Monday, Jan. 12, 2026. (AP Photo/Matias Delacroix)
A photo of Edilson Torres, a Venezuelan police officer who died in prison a month after being arrested on accusations of treason, and his family adorns his coffin during his wake at his home in Guanare, Venezuela, Monday, Jan. 12, 2026. (AP Photo/Ariana Cubillos)
Relatives of Edilson Torres, a Venezuelan police officer who died in prison a month after being arrested on accusations of treason, sit by his coffin during his wake in Guanare, Venezuela, Monday, Jan. 12, 2026. (AP Photo/Ariana Cubillos)
Emelyn Torres leans over the casket of her brother, Edilson Torres, a Venezuelan police officer who died in prison a month after being detained on accusations of treason, during his wake at his home in Guanare, Venezuela, Monday, Jan. 12, 2026. (AP Photo/Ariana Cubillos)
Emelyn Torres and Maria Cristina Fernandez, the sister and grandmother of Edilson Torres, a Venezuelan police officer who died in prison after being detained on accusations of treason, embrace during his wake at his home in Guanare, Venezuela, Monday, Jan. 12, 2026. (AP Photo/Ariana Cubillos)
