Will Trinity Rodman Make It to Ben Shelton’s U.S. Open Final? That’s the Wrong Question to Ask.

To be at the U.S. Open final, or not to be at the U.S. Open final, that’s the Shakespearean question, and one that many tennis fans will be asking of Trinity Rodman when her boyfriend Ben Shelton faces off against world No. 2 Alexander Zverev on Sunday afternoon.

Under normal circumstances, Rodman would be cheering on Shelton from the get-go. She’s done so for Shelton’s previous matches at Flushing Meadows this summer, including his five-set thriller against Carlos Alcaraz that lasted until 3 a.m. ET.

But this Sunday will be different. As it turns out, Rodman has more important plans.

The Washington Spirit are set to host the Boston Legacy in a key late-season NWSL match as Rodman & Co. eye first place. The Spirit (23–13) currently sit in second behind Gotham FC with seven remaining games in the regular season. In her sixth campaign in Washington, coming off an MCL sprain she suffered last October, Rodman has logged a career-high 10 goals along with six assists while starting all 23 games. The 23-year-old forward signed a record-breaking extension in January that made her the highest-paid player in NWSL history and highest-paid female player in the world; that January, she was also named a USWNT captain for the first time in her career in a friendly against Paraguay.

So, yeah, she’s not missing her game.

Logistically, Rodman is guaranteed to miss at least the start of Shelton’s final. The Spirit game kicks off at 1 p.m. ET in Washington D.C., while Shelton’s match is at 2 p.m. ET in New York City. Assuming she stays for the entire 90-minute game, and factoring in the halftime break and travel time, the earliest Rodman could arrive at Flushing Meadows is roughly 4:30 p.m. ET. Men’s Grand Slam tennis matches typically run around two to four hours, with Zverev’s straight-set semifinal win spanning just under three.

If Shelton manages to steal a set or two, Rodman should be able to watch the tail end of the match as Shelton battles the well-rested Zverev in the biggest match of his young tennis career thus far.

That being said, whether Rodman makes it in time to watch her boyfriend play tennis is not the question we should be asking ourselves. Here are a few more pertinent ones:

Why are broadcasts still describing Trinity Rodman as Ben Shelton’s girlfriend?

Trinity Rodman, Ben Shelton, U.S. Open — Trinity Rodman stayed up late to watch Ben Shelton defeat Carlos Alcaraz in the U.S. Open quarterfinals at Arthur Ashe Stadium. | CHARLY TRIBALLEAU/AFP via Getty Images

Rodman’s plentiful accomplishments in soccer deserve recognition of their own. So why did ESPN’s broadcast introduce Rodman as “Ben’s girlfriend & USWNT player” on the chyron on the TV screen during Shelton’s first-round U.S. Open match?

“There’s Trinity Rodman,” the broadcasters said, “also known as Ben Shelton’s girlfriend, and also known as a member of the US women’s national team.”

It would arguably have been more respectful to Rodman, and the incredible athlete she is, to label her in the broadcast’s text banner as any combination of “USWNT Olympic gold medalist,” “two-time Olympian” or “NWSL champion.” Those descriptors would do her justice. Leave it to the announcers to explain to the audience that Rodman is Shelton’s girlfriend, too.

Rodman, for her part, didn’t seem to mind. Amid viral backlash over ESPN’s move, she wore a “I love my boyfriend” shirt to the second round.

She did, however, care when Wimbledon announcers flubbed her first name and mentioned her estranged dad Dennis on the broadcast during the tournament in July.

“For those who don’t know, my name is TRINITY not Tiffany,” Rodman wrote on her Instagram Stories. “Also, for Ben’s matches, he has his family there as his support system, which includes his dad… my dads not even in MY life no need to bring him up during HIS matches when I don’t even want him talked about during mine. It’s his and his loved ones’ moment. Thank you.”

Rodman has made it pretty clear at this point that she does not speak with her father and has no plans of reconciliation.

It’s 2026. Why are women’s sports not taken as seriously as men’s sports?

Kansas City Current, Ted Lasso — The NWSL’s Kansas City Current was featured in the latest season of the hit comedy “Ted Lasso.” | Kyle Rivas/NWSL via Getty Images

If the tables were turned and Shelton wouldn’t be able to make it to Rodman’s Spirit game, it’s likely that no one would bat an eye. But alas, here we are.

The consulting firm McKinsey estimated that the total U.S. sports market was worth $75 billion in 2024, and that women’s sports accounted for less than 2% of that revenue. Still, fan and media interest continues to boost its stock year after year with the state of women’s sports steadily on the rise and in its best spot yet in 2026.

The WNBA just introduced its first-ever million-dollar players salaries and, for the first time in its history, generated enough revenue in 2025 to trigger revenue sharing with its players. The NWSL expanded to 16 teams this season and, like the WNBA, secured a lucrative media rights deal. Nielsen recorded 28.6 billion minutes of views of women’s sports in the first half of 2026, per a recent article from The Athletic, and revenues from women’s sports are reportedly expected to exceed $3 billion globally by the end of the year.

One needs only to look at the debut episode of season four of Ted Lasso (spoilers ahead) in which AFC Richmond owner Rebecca Welton, fretting over the financial sustainability of a women’s soccer team, becomes inspired while attending a Kansas City Current game at CPKC Stadium.

“It is a little bit proof of concept,” KC Current co-owner Angie Long told ESPN. “Everything that we've built, even a show like Ted Lasso is seeing it. So, I think it’s endorsement. But again, what it means for sport, for women’s soccer is huge.”

While the more established cash-cow leagues on the men’s side are also performing well, women’s sports continues to push past boundaries and set records in attendance, merchandise sales, franchise evaluations and more. Ten new professional women’s leagues have debuted since 2024, according to The Athletic, including the PWHL, Women’s Pro Baseball League and Unrivaled. For decades the U.S. has set the global standard for women’s sports, in part thanks to institutional backing like Title IX, and that’s certainly something to be hopeful about.

The simple answer to this question: It takes time.

And last but not least: Why do we even care?

Taylor Swift, Travis Kelce, Kansas City Chiefs — Taylor Swift has frequently been seen cheering on her now-husband Travis Kelce at Kansas City Chiefs games. | Emily Curiel/The Kansas City Star/Tribune News Service via Getty Images

The WAG phenomenon is everywhere these days. It peaked with Taylor Swift and Travis Kelce’s whirlwind PR-no-wait-it’s-not relationship, and it more recently made headlines when it was reported that the NFL has been coordinating efforts to reach its female fans as a part of a content campaign involving players’ WAGs (wives and girlfriends).

People love sports. They also love pop culture and, weirdly, seeing famous people get together. Call it human nature, curiosity, parasocialism or whatever you want. Since hard-launching her relationship with Shelton in March 2025, Rodman said she accepts the WAG term and even likes it, because it simplifies her connection to her boyfriend.

“I use the term WAG for me to simplify what I’m doing. For me, saying WAG is me just being like, ‘Oh, I’m just Ben’s girlfriend,’ ” Rodman told Kylie Kelce on an episode of Kelce’s podcast Not Gonna Lie.

At the same time, Rodman admitted that dating a fellow famous athlete like Shelton in the public eye “is not for the weak.”

“It’s a blessing in so many ways, but there are also just so many—Yeah no, it honestly is [garbage]. Too many people have too many opinions that they need to speak on and it’s just like, ‘Mind your business,’ ” Rodman said. That should settle that.

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