German tennis pro Alexander Zverev poked fun at his rival Ben Shelton‘s girlfriend, Trinity Rodman, following his U.S. Open men’s singles win.
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“Trinity, I thought you had a game today, no?” Zverev, 29, said during his winner’s speech inside New York City’s USTA Billie Jean King National Tennis Center on Sunday, September 13, following his 6-3, 7-6, 5-7, 6-2 defeat over Shelton, 23. Shelton and pro soccer player Trinity, 24, began dating in March 2025.
“Well done to you as well,” the Grand Slam winner continued to direct at Trinity, whose father is NBA legend Dennis Rodman, as the crowd erupted in laughter. “You’re the lucky charm, so … not today, but usually.”
Trinity, who plays for the Washington Spirit in the National Woman’s Soccer League, took the lighthearted jab in her stride, laughing at Zverev’s comments before agreeing that today wasn’t her day, per footage of the moment shared via ESPN’s TikTok account.
The athlete has served as a loyal supporter to Shelton throughout the tournament, spotted cheering him on during his semifinal matchup against Frances Tiafoe on Friday, September 11. She took her encouragement online after the match, which saw Shelton compete in his first U.S. Open final, taking to her Instagram Stories to spread the love.
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“Onto the next,” she wrote atop coverage of Shelton’s progress into Sunday’s final. Trinity also showed her support on Shelton’s Instagram grid, commenting on a carousel of images her shared prior to Sunday’s match. “Love you so much,” she wrote, drawing a string of praise from fans of the athletic duo.
Trinity also threw her support behind Shelton through her U.S. Open fashion choices, sharing a look at her “I Love My Boyfriend” cropped T-shirt via an Instagram carousel of her own on September 4. Her snaps captured her standing outside Arthur Ashe Stadium, where Sunday’s final was staged, in paired white heels, a mini skirt and a designer clutch.
Shelton spoke to Us about his romance with Trinity in April 2025, admitting that he knew some people would talk about their union. “But I didn’t think it would be a ‘break the Internet’ type of thing,” he said of the couple’s social media debut . “I’ve always been like, ‘OK, if I have a serious girlfriend,’ then [I’m] posting about it on Instagram … isn’t that crazy.”
He continued at the time, “I feel like for the past six months, whenever I would get seen with somebody, people would think we were dating. It’s like, ‘No, we’re just friends.’ Or if I’d hang out in a group of three and it was a guy and a girl, they’d cut the guy out and make it seem like I was on a date. It’s either gonna be I post about my girlfriend or they post about assuming who my girlfriend is.”
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This story was originally published September 13, 2026 at 11:50 PM.