She\u2019s also not the only one committing to intense travel at all hours to show up as part of this athlete power couple. The support goes both ways<\/a>.<\/p>\n Shelton has popped up at Spirit games after quick turnarounds, most notably last November after his first appearance in the ATP finals.<\/p>\n On Nov. 14, he lost to Jannik Sinner in Turin, Italy, in straight sets, starting at 2 p.m. local. By 12 p.m. ET the next day, he was at the Spirit\u2019s semifinal win over the Portland Thorns in a field-level suite at Audi Field to watch Rodman. The following week, he made the trip to San Jose to support his girlfriend and the Spirit at the NWSL Championship. The gesture was largely seen in a positive light.<\/p>\n \u201cSome people can say that it\u2019s difficult to maintain a relationship where you have two professional athletes,\u201d Shelton recently told the ATP Tour. \u201cBut in my opinion, to have somebody who understands what you go through is very, very important.\u201d<\/p>\n \n Ben Shelton consoled Trinity Rodman after the Spirit\u2019s NWSL Championship loss to Gotham FC. (Lyndsay Radnedge\/ISI Photos via Getty Images)<\/p>\n Rodman was able to use a long injury layoff to attend multiple tournaments for Shelton last year, but not without scrutiny.<\/p>\n \u201cYes, I\u2019m grinding almost every day in PT to get back on the field,\u201d she\u00a0wrote on a social media post<\/a>\u00a0in May 2025, pushing back on the narrative that she couldn\u2019t show up for her partner and work on her personal recovery goals. \u201cNO, I\u2019m not just being a wag and vacationing:) thank you.\u201d<\/p>\n WAG, short for wives and girlfriends, was coined by British tabloids as shorthand for footballers\u2019 significant others when reporting their every move and look \u2014 most notably, Victoria Beckham. The phenomenon has continued to follow players of all sports and their partners.<\/p>\n Rodman has typically embraced playfulness over defensiveness when it comes to her relationship. She has not forgotten who she is in these moments \u2014 nor has it deterred her from\u00a0showing off her unique fashion choices<\/a> \u2014 but has navigated the discourse over their relationship by largely letting it pass her by and staying on her own message.<\/p>\n After all, most of it is not within her control.<\/p>\n She doesn\u2019t control ESPN\u2019s caption, which described her as \u201cBen\u2019s girlfriend & USWNT player\u201d during Shelton\u2019s first-round match last week. She responded at his second-round match<\/a>, wearing a T-shirt that read \u201cI \u2764\ufe0f my boyfriend.\u201d By then, the order had been reversed following backlash.<\/p>\n Rodman cannot stop ESPN commentators from speculating if she would miss a regular-season match that has the chance to lift her team to No. 1 in the standings to attend the U.S. Open men\u2019s final, presuming Shelton gets past Frances Tiafoe in Friday\u2019s semifinal match. The chance that tennis commentator John McEnroe knows much about the Spirit beyond Rodman\u2019s involvement seems infinitesimal.<\/p>\n in the easiest cross promotion ever, ESPN gives an ad bump to the Washington Spirit vs. Boston Legacy match on Sunday during the Carlos Alcaraz vs. Ben Shelton US Open match with Trinity Rodman right there in the crowd<\/p>\n [image or embed]<\/a><\/p>\n \u2014 Douglas Reyes-Cero\u00d1 (@dreyesceron.bsky.social<\/a>) September 8, 2026 at 11:42 PM<\/a><\/p>\n This is the friction that keeps popping up and, more often than not, in Rodman\u2019s direction rather than Shelton\u2019s. It is why there is a defensiveness from others on her behalf; it is far more normal for her own accomplishments and responsibilities to be diminished in favor of Shelton\u2019s, or for her to be talked about in relation to other men (either Shelton, or far more frequently, her father despite her own clearly stated wishes for that to end). The Grand Slams element doesn\u2019t lessen the attention.<\/p>\n In September 2025, Sheldon was shown on screen during a Spirit game with the title \u201cTrinity Rodman\u2019s +1\u201d on a Paramount+ broadcast (a game Rodman scored both goals, helping the Spirit capture a 2-0 win over the Seattle Reign at Audi Field). That one didn\u2019t go viral. It was also clearly meant in a playful manner, rather than ESPN\u2019s attempt at informing viewers.<\/p>\n The NWSL is happy to draft off Shelton\u2019s profile and his relationship with Rodman, both in their quest for new fans and as the league sees Rodman as one of the primary breakthrough stars of American women\u2019s soccer. But the NWSL ecosystem centers on Rodman, not Shelton.<\/p>\n \n Ben Shelton and Trinity Rodman trade off supporting each other in the biggest moments. (Scott Taetsch\/NWSL via Getty Images)<\/p>\n For years, we have seen World Cup winners described in headlines as someone\u2019s wife. It\u2019s not just a women\u2019s soccer problem. Watch any USA Hockey broadcast during the Olympics, and husbands and fathers are talked about nearly as much as the action on the ice. There\u2019s a clear pattern across sports media as a whole.<\/p>\n Rodman\u2019s chosen approach resists that history. She even embraces the term WAG. When speaking with Kylie Kelce on her \u201cNot Gonna Lie\u201d podcast, Rodman said she doesn\u2019t mind the word choice because it simplifies what she\u2019s choosing to do when she shows up to support Shelton.<\/p>\n Despite her disinterest in engaging, despite her consistently choosing to opt for playfulness rather than being defensive, it doesn\u2019t mean she enjoys it at the end of the day.<\/p>\n \u201cIt\u2019s a blessing in so many ways,\u201d Rodman told Kelce on being in a relationship that had captured the public\u2019s attention, before agreeing with Kelce\u2019s interjection that it was also \u201cgarbage.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cToo many people have too many opinions that they need to speak on,\u201d Rodman concluded, \u201cand it\u2019s just like, mind your business.\u201d<\/p>\n![\"\"](\"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/tennis\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/09\/GettyImages-2248465174-scaled.jpg\")
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