Trinity Rodman was spotted cheering from the stands as her boyfriend Ben Shelton beat reigning US Open champion Carlos Alcaraz to reach the semi-finals. The American won in five sets to make the final four for just the second time in his career. Rodman has been supporting her beau throughout the US Open, and he is also a regular face on the sidelines to cheer her on.
The 24-year-old is a famous athlete in her own right, playing for the Washington Spirit and representing the United States women's national team. The striker began her relationship with Shelton in early 2025 and has opened up about their initial "embarrassing" meeting.
'Cringe' first meeting
Rodman admitted that she made the first move with a "cringe" message that proved surprisingly effective. Speaking on Kylie Kelce's 'Not Gonna Lie' podcast, the 24-year-old confessed that she asked Shelton to spend the weekend at her place without even meeting him beforehand - and her chat-up line wasn't exactly well thought-out.
The USWNT ace said: "Everything I do is just embarrassing. I'm really embarrassed. I said 'You're sick, fire emoji,' that's it ... It worked, he responded within 10 minutes, so I win. I fully committed to this guy that I didn't even meet yet, for him to stay at my house for the weekend... It's actually crazy, it's insane, but it worked out."
Shelton responded with an awkward reply of his own: "Yeah, you were sick at the Olympics too, haha." Rodman enjoyed his awkwardness and noted: "He matched the cringe situation, and then I think a week or two later we met in person." Their relationship was revealed to the public in March last year and they are now seemingly an inseparable duo.
BBC's forced apology
BBC star Andrew Castle was compelled to say sorry to Rodman after he called her by the wrong name and referenced her distant father, Dennis, during Shelton's game at Wimbledon. The striker was in the stands as her boyfriend beat Lorenzo Sonego in the round-of-32 last year.
Castle saw Rodman cheering Shelton on and commented: "That was interesting. Tiffany Rodman is part of the US football set-up, she's in the national team, scored a goal in the World Cup final. Her father is Dennis Rodman who is one of the greatest sportsmen of all time in my opinion. The greatest rebounder in NBA history and the biggest wind-up merchant of all time. Nobody wound people up more than Rodman. When he was with Detroit in the NBA with Bill Laimbeer and Isaiah Thomas, he used to ruin Michael Jordan's life. Then they were team-mates at the Chicago Bulls and they were legends together. There's nobody she doesn't know in the hierarchy of US sports. A big star herself."
Rodman was left fuming by Castle's words and took to Instagram to inform "those who don't know" her situation with the NBA legend. She said: "Also, for Ben's matches, he has his family there as his support system, which includes his dad. My dad's not even in MY life, no need to bring him up during HIS matches when I don't even want him talked about during mine. It's him and his loved ones' moment. Thank you."
The BBC released a statement in response that read: "Andrew apologises for mispronouncing Trinity Rodman's name during the Ben Shelton vs. Lorenzo Sonego match." The 24-year-old had previously revealed that she was estranged from her biological father, claiming that Dennis is "not a dad" other than by blood.
Rodman's WAG feelings
Rodman admittedly loves being a WAG, stating it's the "best feeling" to be supporting her partner. She explained: "It's the best feeling in the world, honestly. I think to know we're both on the grind, running our bodies to the ground, always exhausted, doing what we love, and then to also be able to be a little like a WAG in a sense, it feels so good for us."
The American also values seeing Rodman in the crowd while playing tennis, explaining his viewpoint after defeating Ugo Humbert at the Citi Open earlier this summer. Shelton said: "She's always messing around. I don't know why she does that. It's cool, obviously, to be able to share these moments with her, to be able to go to her games, to be able to play in front of her and the rest of my family. I got a lot of family here, so all that is super special and emotional for me. The part that I enjoy the most is getting able to play."
