To cheer on boyfriend Ben Shelton at the U.S. Open men’s final, women’s soccer star Trinity Rodman traveled to Flushing Meadows in style.
Rodman, who started this year as the world’s highest-paid women’s soccer player, flew privately to the major tournament’s final round right after playing for the NWSL’s Washington Spirit, she revealed in an interview with espnW.
“After the game, I got on a little private jet. Splurged on that because it’s just important to me, and it was such an amazing time,” Rodman said.
The Boston Legacy defeated the 24-year-old striker and Washington 3-0 on Sunday afternoon at Audi Field in Washington, D.C.
Rodman then jetted off to New York for Shelton’s first U.S. Open singles final, making a 235-mile trip seem effortless.
“I knew she was coming — I knew it was going to be pretty close to impossible to get here,” Shelton said after the match.
“Even making the effort and trying is insane.”
Shelton fell to top-seeded German Alexander Zverev 6-3, 7-6(2), 5-7, 6-2 to end an incredible run to his first Grand Slam final.
The 24-year-old still made a ton of history, becoming the first black American man to play in a U.S. Open singles final since Arthur Ashe in 1972.
Rodman was extremely happy with her partner’s performance despite the defeat.
“Even though it wasn’t the result that he or I wanted, I think just being there for him in a big moment, and it still was such a big accomplishment,” Rodman said.
After their relationship went public in 2025, Rodman was there for Shelton every step of the way throughout the 2026 tournament.
A few days after helping the Spirit defeat the Portland Thorns on the road, Rodman watched Shelton’s five-set thriller victory over Carlos Alcaraz in the stands that dragged into the early hours of the morning the next day.
She witnessed Shelton’s final ace at 3:33 a.m. and reported for training in Leesburg, Va., a few hours later.
Shelton has reciprocated, becoming a regular in the NWSL stands, including a quick turnaround of his own.
Last November, after losing to Jannik Sinner in the ATP Finals in Turin, Italy, Shelton hopped on a direct flight to Washington to see Rodman and the Spirit in their NWSL semifinal matchup against the Thorns the next day.
Shelton was also one of the first people Rodman went to in the stands after the Spirit fell to Gotham FC in the 2025 NWSL Championship.
“We’ve made a lot of sacrifices for each other,” Shelton said after the U.S. Open final loss. “We’ve traveled the world to try to support each other.”
