Ben Shelton once again showed his impressive performance to reach the finals at the Dallas Open. He defeated Canadian Denis Shapovalov in the semifinals to set up an all-American clash against the top-ranked player from their country, Taylor Fritz, on Sunday, Feb. 15.
Interestingly, it was not Shelton who caught the tennis world’s attention after the win; it was his girlfriend, Trinity Rodman, and her reaction that made headlines.
Trinity Rodman Can’t Hide Her Excitement After Ben Shelton’s Dallas Win
Shelton defeated Shapovalov 4-6, 6-4, 7-6(4) in a two-hour and 36-minute match at the Center Court of the Ford Center at the Stars in Texas. After losing the first set, the American mounted an impressive comeback, breaking his opponent in the last game of the second set to claim it. In the third set, both players held their serves, forcing a tiebreak, which Shelton took with his impressive serving skills.
After his win, the World No. 9 went to his bench and let the emotions soak in, but as he turned his eyes towards his girlfriend, a wide smile of joy came to his face. Rodman, who was sitting courtside, started dancing to celebrate the win, and when Shelton saw it, he did a little dance himself, bringing smiles to the tennis world’s faces.
This moment was posted by many social media accounts, and it immediately went viral, seeing the love of these two professional athletes on Valentine’s Day.
During Shelton’s post-match on-court interview, the couple shared a lovely moment when the second seed acknowledged Rodman’s presence by saying, “This is the second tournament that my girlfriend has showed up on the semifinals day. I’m 2-0 in semi’s when she shows up for that. So Happy Valentine’s Day!”
Shelton and Rodman have been dating since early 2025, making it public a bit later through an Instagram post. Since then, both athletes have been an integral part of each other’s lives, supporting each other through rough patches.
Rodman has been a constant presence in Shelton’s box, supporting him through the stands, whereas the second-ranked American was with his girlfriend on the soccer field during the off-season. The couple has shared multiple memorable moments, sharing them with their followers on social media.
Shelton’s Impressive Dallas Open Run
Shelton kicked off his campaign with a straight-sets win over Gabriel Diallo in the first-round match before taking on Adrian Mannarino in the round of 16 match, the opponent against whom he suffered a shoulder injury at the 2025 US Open. He then faced Miomir Kecmanović in the quarterfinals and secured his semifinal spot despite losing the first set.
Against Shapovalov, Shelton showed an impressive serving performance, landing 72% of his first serves and winning 73% of those points, while winning 56% of his second serve points. He hit a total of 31 winners and landed 8 aces during the entire match, while committing fewer unforced errors than his opponent, showing the accuracy that has defined his career.
Shelton is now set to face American No. 1 Fritz in the final on Sunday night, marking their third head-to-head battle. Both players have won one match each, with Shelton winning last year’s Masters 1000 Canadian Open semifinal before lifting the title. Fritz won the round of 64 match between these two at Indian Wells back in 2023.
The World No. 7 has already faced three Americans in four of his matches and will now take on Shelton as his fourth American of this tournament.
