Basketball Hall of Famer Dennis Rodman’s daughter, Trinity Rodman, seemingly pranked Ben Shelton, her boyfriend, after his second-round victory at the US Open on Wednesday, August 27.
After Shelton defeated Spaniard Pablo Carreno Busta in the second round, Rodman showed up in the news conference disguised as a reporter and asked him a question.
“So how did it feel to not being able to serve faster than 135[mph] today?”
An amused Shelton put his head in hands before asking the moderator: “Why did you give her a question?”
“My orders [are] from the boss over there,” responded the moderator.
Shelton would proceed to answer his girlfriend’s question.
“It was cold outside,” said the World No. 6. “That was the main reason. I was focused on hitting the spots, and I didn’t hit those spots. “Maybe I should have just served bigger, but that’s something I will definitely work on next time.”
While wrapping up his presser, Shelton jokingly said, “They let anyone in the room at this point.”
Shelton Appreciates the Support
The American tennis player earlier thanked Rodman, a star athlete in her own right, for attending her first-round match against Ignacio Buse, less than 24 hours after playing an MLS Soccer match with the Washington Spirit.
Ben Shelton shouts out Trinity Rodman for making his US Open match less than 24 hours after her NWSL game ❤️
Rodman, an Olympic gold-medal-winning soccer star, and Shelton made their relationship public with a “hard launch” on Instagram on March 17, 2025. Thereafter, they participated in a viral TikTok trend, in which they each posted five-second clips of themselves set to Jorjiana and GloRilla’s “ILBB2, per ESPN. In their respective videos, the young athletes put the number of letters saying “what’s up with you” to each other.
Trinity Rodman was also present at Wimbledon to watch Shelton make a career-best quarterfinal appearance before he fell to World No. 1 Jannik Sinner in straight sets.
Trinity Also Attended Wimbledon
During her appearances at SW19, Trinity grew increasingly frustrated with the Wimbledon announcers referring to her as “Tiffany” instead of her real name, and also mentioning her famous father rather than focusing on her own athletic career.
“For Ben’s matches he has his family there as his support system, which includes his dad,” she wrote on social media. “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 him and his loved ones’ moment. Thank you.”
Her outburst led to BBC commentator Andrew Castle issuing an apology.
“Andrew apologizes for mispronouncing Trinity Rodman’s name during the Ben Shelton vs. Lorenzo Sonego match,” a BBC Sport spokesperson said.
Trinity has maintained that her father has not been a constant presence in her life.
“Like I’ve said before, I’ve gotten closure with it all,” Rodman said in a 2023 interview.
“I know he’s proud of me. I truly do. He has his own things to deal with, but at the end of the day, he’s communicated to me that he knows I was going to be here, and that’s all I need.”
Ben Shelton is trying to become the first American man to win the US Open since Andy Roddick in 2003. Perhaps Trinity’s presence will help him make history.
Dennis Rodman’s Daughter Pulls a Prank on Boyfriend at US Open