Trinity Rodman set to miss Ben Sheltons US Open final debut due to NWSL conflict
The sports scheduling gods were not in favor of Trinity Rodman and Ben Shelton.The USWNT soccer star will not be at her boyfriend’s most important tennis match of his young career — his Grand Slam final debut at the U.S.
Open on Sunday — due to a NWSL conflict, The Athletic reported.Rodman, the star of the Washington Spirit, has a game in Boston at 1 p.m., which falls just an hour ahead of Shelton’s scheduled clash against Alexander Zverev at 2 p.m.in Queens.
It’s also not just a simple regular-season game for the Spirit.The team is fighting to earn first place in the league as they trail the defending champion Gotham by five points.The 30-game season is winding down and each game will have significant playoff implications.
Rodman, 24, has been seen in the stands throughout Shelton’s impressive run in the hard court slam, including when she celebrated his thrilling five-set win over Carlos Alcaraz in the quarterfinals that ended at 3:33 a.m.The couple, who went public in March 2025, shared various fun moments following the late finish.Rodman performed Shelton’s signature “dialed in” phone celebration.
She also looked visibly peeved when Shelton joked about his best friend and sister getting the work day off as they were set to start their routine day in three hours.By Wednesday morning after the match, Rodman was at 9 a.m.training at the team’s facility in Virginia.
The Spirit then confirmed she would be in uniform on Sunday.It serves as an example of how Rodman and Shelton balance their relationship with their demanding schedules.
Shelton has had notable quick turnaround to support Rodman as well, including in November 2025 after the ATP finals.After losing to Jannik Sinner in Turin, Italy in straight sets at 2 p.m.local on Nov.
14, Shelton was at the Spirit’s semifinal win over the Portland Thorns by 12 p.m.ET the following day.Soon after, he also flew out to San Jose to support Rodman and the Spirit at the NWSL Championship, where th...