Washington Spirit star Trinity Rodman has proven that she will go to extra lengths to support boyfriend Ben Shelton — even seemingly impossible travel.
On Sunday, Rodman managed to balance a Spirit game with Shelton’s appearance in the US Open final, despite the two events taking place near simultaneously, more than 200 miles apart.
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Unfortunately, neither Rodman or Shelton got the win on Sunday: The Spirit finished with a stunning 3-0 loss to the 13th-place Boston Legacy, while Shelton fell to No. 1 seed Alexander Zverev in four sets.
Logistically, getting between the game and the match was a feat: The Spirit kicked off play just after 1 p.m. ET at D.C.’s Audi Field, while Shelton’s match started at 2 p.m. ET at Arthur Ashe Stadium in Flushing, Queens. Washington wrapped up play before 3:30 p.m.; Shelton fell to Zverev in the fourth set, shortly after 6 p.m., leaving Rodman a window just over two hours to travel between D.C. and New York.
It’s not entirely clear when Rodman arrived, but she was there in time for Shelton’s post-match interview as he was presented as the runner-up. The forward, who was wearing a shirt with Shelton’s face on it, was visibly emotional as Shelton spoke.
Zverev then had a chance to speak, and shouted out Rodman as Shelton’s lucky charm.
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“And Trinity, you had a game today, no?” Zverev said, turning to Rodman in the stands. “Well done to you too as well, you’re the lucky charm. Not today but usually.”
Rodman has been a fixture at matches in Queens throughout Shelton’s run to his first Grand Slam final, but has done so while balancing her schedule with the NWSL team in D.C. The United States women’s national team forward and the tennis player have been publicly dating since March 2025.
Trinity Rodman in the Washington Spirit’s loss to the Boston Legacy in Washington, D.C.’s Audi Field… (Photo by Roger Wimmer/ISI Photos/ISI Photos via Getty Images)
(Roger Wimmer/ISI Photos via Getty Images)
…and Trinity Rodman in the stands in Flushing, Queens after Ben Shelton’s US Open loss, hours later. (Photo by ANGELA WEISS / AFP via Getty Images)
(ANGELA WEISS via Getty Images)
Rodman was present at Shelton’s semifinal win over Frances Tiafoe on Friday, and even stayed through the end of Shelton’s marathon quarterfinal against Carlos Alcaraz on Wednesday, which didn’t end until 3:30 a.m. ET.
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Rodman posted a video on TikTok on Thursday morning with pictures from the historic night, including a mirror selfie at 4:14 a.m., before revealing that she had made it back to training in D.C. Thursday morning — likely traveling straight from Queens to the Spirit’s training facility. The video was captioned, “Best of both worlds.”
Despite some (frankly ridiculous) suggestions that Rodman may have chosen to skip Sunday’s Spirit game in order to be in Queens, the forward played the full 90 minutes against the Legacy. Rodman has started in all 24 games for Washington this season, averaging 85 minutes per game.
Notably, Shelton has taken similar lengths to support Rodman in her career, appearing at a number of Spirit games in the midst of his busy tennis tour. In November, Shelton lost to Jannik Sinner at the Nitto ATP Finals in Turin, Italy, and was seen at Rodman’s game in D.C. less than 24 hours later.
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Rodman did have a somewhat down game against Boston on Sunday, with just one shot on goal and two chances created, per Fotmob, though her defensive production was still effective. It’s possible that the busy week took its toll, but Washington as a whole struggled to make anything happen, making it difficult to point the finger at Rodman.
The Spirit were heavy favorites against the Legacy, but the always-dogged Boston — one of two expansion teams added to the league this season — showed their determination to get their biggest statement win this season.
Legacy starting forward Aïssata Traoré scored the team’s first goal in the 81st minute. Minutes later, Traoré was subbed out for Amanda Gutierres, who then scored two goals in a two-minute span in stoppage time to ice the win.
The Spirit, meanwhile, are in second place in the standings, and in the hunt for the NWSL Shield. Washington, who is just five points behind first-place Gotham FC, could have used that win and the resulting three points; the Spirit will try to use their upcoming games (which luckily includes two matches against the league-worst Chicago Stars) to recoup some points.
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