Ben Shelton and Trinity Rodman Are U.S. Open MVPs

Last night, Ben Shelton and Carlos Alcaraz spent four and a half hours duking it out in the latest-ending U.S. Open match of all time. Finally, at 3:33 a.m., Shelton put an end to things with a 146-mph serve that got the better of his Spanish opponent. Shelton’s girlfriend, professional soccer player Trinity Rodman, was there through it all, cheering for her man. Is this the cutest couple in tennis? It seems likely, but let’s take a look at the evidence from last night.

Rodman, who was really pulling off an orange hat that would look bad on most people, made sure to bring a special totem to Arthur Ashe stadium. As she watched from the stands, she kept a tiny Shelton action figure in front of her. Keeping your boyfriend in miniature? Cute.

When Shelton finally won in the wee hours of the morning, he and Rodman exchanged “Call me” hand gestures paired with big smiles from both of them. What does that mean? I don’t know, it’s probably a little inside joke just for them.

Shelton and Rodman are even charming when she’s mildly ticked off at him. During his post-match interview, Shelton shouted out some of his people in the stands, saying, “I’m just hoping my best friend and my sister over there don’t have to be at work at 6 a.m. in three hours. It’d be huge from their employers to let them have the day off.” The camera cut to Shelton’s crew, where you can very clearly see Rodman ask, “What about me?” She’s laughing, so this also gets filed under “Cute.”

While she may have been laughing, Rodman wasn’t joking about going to work after a long night. In a TikTok posted on Wednesday, she shared that she was already back to training in her Washington Spirit gear. She has her own game on Sunday, after all.

Meanwhile, Shelton will return to Arthur Ashe Stadium on Friday to play Frances Tiafoe, hopefully accompanied by Rodman and her action figure. There, they’ll face some fierce cutie competition from Tiafoe and Ayan Broomfield. May the best couple win!

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