This past Sunday, Sept. 13, Ben Shelton suffered a heartbreaking loss in his first-ever US Open final, with NWSL forward Trinity Rodman in the audience. Just hours earlier, Rodman herself had faced a 3-0 loss against the Boston Legacy with the Washington Spirit.
Despite the double defeats, the day was another example of the unusual position the two rising stars find themselves in: supporting each other while simultaneously navigating the intense scrutiny that comes with being young and successful professional athletes.
For Rodman, that spotlight has only grown throughout the 2026 season. She has been widely considered one of the best players in the NWSL and was recently ranked No. 1 by ESPN. Despite various injuries that have set her back from time to time, since being drafted by the Washington Spirit in 2021, Rodman has established herself as one of the biggest names in American soccer. During her rookie season, she won Rookie of the Year, was named to the NWSL Best XI and played a crucial role in the Spirit’s NWSL Championship run.
Her accolades have not stopped piling up. Rodman was nominated for the Ballon d’Or Féminin in 2022, the biggest prize in global women’s football, and helped the U.S. women’s national team win a gold medal at the 2024 Paris Olympics. This season, she has taken another step forward, scoring 10 goals — already more than she has scored in any previous NWSL season.
Her career has also made her relationship with Shelton a particularly visible one. The 23-year-old tennis star has established himself on the world stage, most recently reaching his first US Open final and becoming the first American man to reach the tournament’s final since Andy Roddick did it in 2006. Shelton is known for his exceptionally fast serve and has won seven ATP singles titles, including back-to-back Canadian Open titles in 2025 and 2026. He also recently reached a career-high ranking of No. 4 in the world.
But it is the way Shelton and Rodman have continually shown up for each other that has made their relationship so compelling to sports fans. The two first connected in March 2025, when Rodman reached out to Shelton on Instagram with the message “you’re sick,” as he later revealed on Kylie Kelce’s podcast Not Gonna Lie. Since then, they have been seen regularly attending each other’s games and sharing glimpses of their relationship on social media.
That support was particularly noticeable on Sunday. Rodman found a way to attend the 2 p.m. US Open final in New York despite having played for the Spirit in Washington earlier that afternoon.
Both athletes have said that their relationship is grounded in their shared experiences as professional athletes. And though their careers look different, they both understand the pressure of competing at the highest level while being constantly watched, analyzed and scrutinized.
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That visibility has also brought criticism, particularly as Rodman and the Spirit navigate a difficult stretch of the season. Following Washington’s 3-0 loss to the Boston Legacy, some fans questioned whether Rodman’s presence at the US Open could be a sign that her attention was divided. The loss also hurt the Spirit’s position in the race for the NWSL Shield, leaving the team five points behind the league-leading Gotham FC.
But there is little evidence that Rodman’s relationship has come at the expense of her commitment to soccer. In fact, she has made a point of showing fans just how she balances both parts of her life. Following Shelton’s run at the US Open, Rodman posted a TikTok acknowledging the late nights while also showing herself training afterward. She captioned the video, “best of both worlds.”
And maybe that’s what makes Rodman and Shelton’s relationship so interesting. Their relationship, like their careers, is unusually public. Every game, tournament, win and loss is scrutinized, making their ability to support one another while continuing to pursue their own careers a compelling part of their stories.
For Rodman in particular, the attention surrounding her relationship is ultimately just one piece of a much larger rise. At 24, she is already an Olympic gold medalist, an NWSL champion and one of the most recognizable players in American soccer. And as her career continues to grow, the spotlight on Rodman is unlikely to fade anytime soon.
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