Cuffing season came early this year for Ben Shelton. The rising American star just “hard launched” his relationship with soccer’s very own Trinity Rodman. On Monday, March 17, Shelton posted a mirror selfie on Instagram, kissing the U.S. Women’s National Team forward. The two stood in an elevator, Rodman’s arm wrapped around Shelton’s neck as she kissed his cheek. “I been focused, but I’m steady climbin’, I’m nowhere near my peak,” Shelton captioned the post. Rodman wasted no time dropping a flirty response, “Shooters shoot, I guess.” And since then they haven’t been shy about showing off their relationship!
Since that elevator snap, the pair has been sprinkling cute moments all over social media. Rodman was clearly thrilled about the announcement.In an interview she joked, “Me seeing the Ben Shelton hard launch…then realizing I’m the girl.” Just after he made their relationship Instagram official, she posted a selfie captioned “Dibs ,” which got a quick reply from Shelton who wrote, “Whoever that is he won fs [for sure].”
The build-up to the big reveal actually started on TikTok. On March 6, Ben posted a video listening to GloRilla and Jorjiana’s “ILBB2.” The lyrics go, “They say shooters shoot Duke Dennis whats up with you.” On top of the video, Shelton added text that read, “T****** wsp with u.” Naturally, fans started connecting the dots—was he shooting his shot at Trinity?
Turns out, yes. The next day, March 7, Rodman posted a response of her own. She mouthed the same lyrics in her video with text that read, “_ _ _ wassup w you.” She smiled and pointed at the message, which fans took as a playful nod to Shelton’s video.
The American tennis player recently dropped a carousel of photos on Instagram. The snapshots captured bits of his busy life—training sessions, a dinner night, a Vogue photoshoot, and moments from the Sunshine Double. One clip stood out though: a short video of him walking with Trinity Rodman. The caption? “In n out of time zones.” Rodman quickly left a comment under the post that read, “Obsessed with you Benny.”
While their relationship might be fresh on the timeline, Rodman is handling the public attention like a pro. In a recent ESPN interview, she opened up about being in the spotlight. “I mean, I am just another person in a relationship that people know about it, so yeah, I’m obviously very happy, and hopefully some of the world is happy, but, yeah, I think you know, it’s in the public eye, and I can’t really do much about it,” she said.
Right now, Rodman is deep in training with the USWNT. She’s preparing for two upcoming friendly matches against Brazil on April 5 and 8 in Southern California. Meanwhile, Shelton is switching gears as he enters clay season.
Ben Shelton feels he is getting “better” on the clay court
After making the semi-finals of both the Australian Open (2025) and the US Open (2024), Ben Shelton is hoping to take that form into Europe’s red dirt. Last year, he was stopped in the third round at Roland Garros, losing to Felix Auger-Aliassime 6-4, 6-2, 6-1.
Still, the 22-year-old tennis player is not discouraged. Speaking to Tennis Majors before the UTS Nimes event, Shelton said, “It’s something I’m learning and getting better and better at.” He added, “It’s funny because my only title last year was on clay (in Houston). I’m improving. I feel more and more comfortable with my movement and my game style. I’d love to get some big results on clay this year because I think I’m playing well enough and I’m in a good mental and physical position to do some damage.”
“For me, it’s about learning something new, something you’re not expected to be good at, or something you’re not comfortable with,” he said. “Obviously, I’ve played on hard courts my whole life, and clay and grass are something new for me, something new to try to learn. I feel like I’m doing a good job.”
Although he fell to Andrey Rublev in the semi-finals at UTS Nimes, Shelton’s not slowing down. He’s set to face Alejandro Davidovich Fokina on Monday at the Monte Carlo Masters. He’s also dipping into doubles—teaming up with veteran Rohan Bopanna. The duo will take on Francisco Cerundolo and Alejandro Tabilo on Sunday.
New couple, new season, and a new surface—Ben Shelton has a lot going on. Can he make his clay breakthrough while balancing love and tennis?
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