Ben Shelton had his girlfriend, soccer star Trinity Rodman, cheering him on from the stands as he pulled off a comeback victory against fellow left hander Ugo Humbert in the round of 16 of the Mubadala DC Open on Thursday, July 30.
After the match, Rodman hilariously tried to get Shelton’s attention as the American tossed autographed tennis balls into the stands. Shelton later reacted to the amusing moment while also speaking about the couple’s support for each other.
Ben Shelton Shares Whether Trinity Rodman Feels Nervous Watching Him Compete
Shelton arrived in Washington, D.C., after an intense training drill following a first-round upset at Wimbledon. The American, seeded second at the tournament, launched his campaign with a 6-4, 4-6, 6-4 win against compatriot Martin Damm Jr.
In the next round, he faced Humbert, who clinched the opening set in the tiebreak. Shelton, however, refused to give in and mounted a convincing comeback to seal a 6-7(3), 6-3, 6-4 victory. The cameras occasionally captured Rodman during the tense contest, with her excitement evident as she playfully celebrated and tried to secure one of her partner’s signed tennis balls after his win.
“She’s always messing around. I don’t know why she does that,” Shelton said, laughing, during his post-match press conference.
“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,” he continued. “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 in front of them, especially when I’m playing well or in a match like that; that’s enjoyable and entertaining.”
The 23-year-old also observed that the Washington Spirit forward tends to get nervous while watching him play from the sidelines. “She definitely gets more nervous than me 100%. I can see it in her face when I’m playing.”
Trinity rises for Ben 🙌
Epic hype under the lights in DC ✨#MubadalaDCOpen pic.twitter.com/ClN5N4AVNz
— Mubadala DC Open (@mubadaladcopen) July 31, 2026
Shelton, meanwhile, enjoyed a memorable outing of his own as he supported Trinity Rodman during her NWSL match against Denver Summit earlier this week. Rodman provided the winning assist as her team secured a 1-0 victory. The tennis player was accompanied by his colleagues, Arthur Fils and Hailey Baptiste.
“It was a lot of fun, being able to go with Hailey and Arthur and watch her play and see how invested and pumped up they were to go watch that,” he said.
Hours before Shelton’s match against Humbert, Rodman was in Utah scoring the winning goal against Utah Royals FC. “Now be on the flip side, she got back from a road trip and came straight to the site. Hasn’t even been home, but she loves this event,” the 23-year-old said.
“Her friends love this event. They do such a great job here, make it a fun experience for the people who come and so knowing that she’s there, but also all of her friends are here, get to experience that is pretty cool for me to know they’re out there,” he added.
It remains to be seen whether Trinity Rodman shows up to support Ben Shelton during his quarterfinal match against Chile’s Alejandro Tabilo on Friday, July 31. The American is in pursuit of his fourth title of the season and his first in the US capital.
