It had barely been three hours after the final whistle of the Washington Spirit’s 3-0 loss to Boston Legacy on Sunday afternoon at Audi Field in Washington, D.C., and forward Trinity Rodman was already in the stands of Arthur Ashe Stadium some 200 miles away.
The 24-year-old U.S. women’s soccer star made the nearly impossible trek to Queens, N.Y., in record time to support her boyfriend, Ben Shelton, in his first U.S. Open singles final.
“It means everything,” Shelton said Sunday, after falling to Alexander Zverev 6-3, 7-6(2), 5-7, 6-2 on Sunday. “I knew she was coming — I knew it was going to be pretty close to impossible to get here.
“Even making the effort and trying is insane.”
Rodman has become a regular at Arthur Ashe Stadium this summer, supporting Shelton through a memorable run to his first Grand Slam final. On Sunday, he became the first Black American man to play in a U.S. Open singles final since Arthur Ashe himself in 1972.
Rodman was there late Tuesday night into Wednesday morning, days after assisting the Spirit’s winning goal against the Thorns in Portland, to watch Shelton’s dramatic five-set victory over Carlos Alcaraz. She witnessed Shelton’s final ace at 3:33 a.m. in Queens, and was back in Leesburg, Va., reporting for training just a few hours later.
Ben Shelton has supported Trinity Rodman at several of her Washington Spirit games. (Scott Taetsch / NWSL via Getty Images)
Their relationship has taken center stage this summer in Flushing Meadows, with tabloids buzzing about the young sports couple.
Many wondered, foolishly, whether Rodman would skip the Spirit’s clash against Boston so she could attend the men’s final. But as expected, she played a full 90 minutes in D.C.
“She kind of showed up as I was losing,” Shelton said, “which for her probably sucked.”
In that moment, Shelton looked to the stands and thanked his loved ones for being there. That’s when the camera panned to Rodman, who was visibly emotional for Shelton’s historic moment.
Ever since the couple went public with their relationship last year, the pair have very publicly supported one another through their demanding schedules. Shelton has also become a regular in the NWSL stands, showing his willingness to commit to intense travel to support Rodman, including a tight turnaround of his own. After losing to Jannik Sinner in the ATP Finals in Turin, Italy, Shelton hopped on a direct flight to Washington to see Rodman and the Spirit defeat the Thorns in the NWSL semifinals the next day.
Shelton was one of the first people Rodman went to in the stands after the Spirit fell to Gotham in the 2025 NWSL Championship. The striker has credited him for his support during difficult moments in her career, like when she navigated her future with the Spirit. She went on to become one of the highest-paid women’s soccer players in the world.
“We’ve made a lot of sacrifices for each other,” Shelton said Sunday. “We’ve traveled the world to try to support each other.”
That will likely only continue, as the Spirit enter the final stretch of the season and continue chasing this year’s NWSL Shield. They sit just five points behind league-leading Gotham FC, with six games left in the regular season. Next summer, Rodman will also be gearing up for her second World Cup in Brazil with the U.S. national team. Shelton will likely be in those stands, too … if he’s not too busy with Wimbledon.