Ben and Trinity: A Match Made in Sportsish Heaven
The picture that confirmed it all (@benshelton/Instagram)
It’s official: There’s a new Sportsish couple in town! After weeks of speculation, tennis pro Ben Shelton and soccer sensation Trinity Rodman have gone Instagram official, with a sneaky hard launch post from Ben that included a picture of the couple on the last slide of the carousel. As if the image of Trinity kissing Ben’s cheek wasn’t confirmation enough, the USWNT player commented on the post: “Shooters shoot I guess 🤭👀”.
The comment references a TikTok video Ben posted with GloRilla and Jorjiana’s song “ILBB2” with the lyrics, “They say shooters shoot Duke Dennis what's up with you.” Ben appears on camera with a text over him reading, “T****** what’s up with you.” Seemingly in response, Trinity posted herself with the same clip from the song, writing instead, “_ _ _ what’s up with you.” The interaction fueled the dating rumors between the two athletes, and now it is safe to say the speculation is over.
With an official hard launch on Instagram as confirmation, the new couple joins our list of Sportsish love stories to watch. As we wait to get more content from them together instead of snippets with cryptic messages, here is a quick recap of their success as athletes to prove why they are the actual definition of a power couple.
Trinity Rodman: A Soccer Extraordinaire
Trinity grew up in California, where she played soccer and basketball from a young age. However, it was soccer that became her sport of choice.
The sporty gene definitely runs in her blood, as she is the daughter of basketball legend Dennis Rodman. She opened up on the “Call Her Daddy” podcast about the struggles in their strained relationship and how she doesn’t see him as a father figure: "He's not a dad. Maybe by blood but nothing else."
She’s the youngest player drafted into the National Women’s Soccer League. She was the second pick overall during the 2021 NWSL draft at only 18 years old and became a key element in the Washington Spirit’s championship during her rookie year.
Last season (2024-2025), she was the NWSL's sixth top scorer and the Washington Spirit's top scorer, with eight goals during the regular season.
Even though she’s only been playing pro for a couple of years, she already boasts several accolades, including one NWSL title with the Washington Spirit, as well as six championships with the USWNT: the 2022 Concacaf W Championship, 2023 SheBelievesCup, 2024 SheBelieves Cup, the 2024 Concacaf W Gold Cup, and a gold medal from the 2024 Paris Olympics.
Individually, she has also received the NWSL Rookie of the Year and U.S. Soccer Young Female Player of the Year awards in 2021.
Ben Shelton: A Tennis Star is Born
Ben also comes from a line of pro athletes. His dad, Bryan Shelton, was a tennis player whose highest rank was No. 55 in the world back in 1992. He started coaching Ben when he was 10 years old, and now Ben credits him as “his biggest inspiration.” His uncle on his mother’s side is Todd Witsken, former World No. 4 doubles while his sister, Emma, is a senior on the University of Florida women's tennis team.
He won the 2021 NCAA men’s team title for the University of Florida, as well as the 2022 NCAA singles title. Ben says playing for the Gators was “a huge success and an important part of his development.”
He is currently ranked at No. 14, although his peak was No. 12 in March 2025.
His game-time favorites:
Shot: serving (a perfect match for Trinity, who is always serving!)
Surface: hard
Tournament: US Open
City on tour: New York
Like Trinity, he’s a multitalented sporty king. He enjoys track and field, basketball, and even played some football before focusing solely on tennis.
He reached the semi-finals at the 2025 Australian Open. While he lost against defending champion Jannik Sinner, he still made history as the second American to reach the last four at a major.
The couple seems like a perfect fit for each other, with their careers on an uphill road to success. From their exciting introduction with their flirty TikToks to their official hard launch on Instagram, we cannot wait to see them give us more updates along the way!