Tennis phenom Ben Shelton is punching his ticket to the US Open finals for the first time — and girlfriend Trinity Rodman couldn’t be prouder.
Shelton, 23, defeated Frances Tiafoe in a 4-6, 6-3, 6-3, 7-5 semifinals matchup on Friday, September 11 to clinch a spot in the coveted Sunday, September 13, championship match against No. 1 seed Alexander Zverev.
“Onto the next,” Rodman, 24, gushed via her Instagram Stories on Friday, reposting US Open’s coverage of Shelton’s victory.
Rodman was present on Friday, dressed in a denim button-down open at her navel and a “Team USA” baseball cap, to cheer on Shelton. This will be the tennis pro’s first US Open finals, and the first time a Black American athlete has reached the championship match since Arthur Ashe in 1972.
“It’s a lot of emotion,” he said in a post-match press conference of his historic finish. “My dad and my mom have sacrificed a lot for me to be in this position today. My dad lost his mom earlier this year, and she’s the reason he was able to play tennis. Without her, there’s no Ben Shelton standing here today. So, this one is for her.”
He continued, “I’m gonna need you guys on Sunday to bring the energy. I’m going for it here, I’m going to leave it all on the court. I hope you guys come and back me, let’s do it for the USA!”
While Shelton gears up for his US Open finals debut, it is not known whether Rodman will be present as she has a Washington Spirit soccer game in D.C. earlier on Sunday. Shelton and the Olympic soccer star have been together since March 2025.
“I was sure some people would talk about it, but I didn’t think it would be a ‘break the Internet’ type of thing,” Shelton exclusively told Us in April 2025 of the pair’s social media debut . “But I’ve always been like, ‘OK, if I have a serious girlfriend,’ then posting about it on Instagram isn’t that crazy.”
He continued at the time, “I feel like for the past six months, whenever I would get seen with somebody, people would think we were dating. It’s like, ‘No, we’re just friends.’ Or if I’d hang out in a group of three and it was a guy and a girl, they’d cut the guy out and make it seem like I was on a date. It’s either gonna be I post about my girlfriend or they post about assuming who my girlfriend is.”
