Trinity Rodman and Ben Shelton are quickly turning into everyone’s favorite athletic power couple. The soccer and tennis professionals are always cheering each other on, and Shelton is currently competing in the U.S. Open. On August 27th, he beat Pablo Carreño Busta in the second round of the men’s singles, making him one step closer to becoming champion.
After the press conference, the 22-year-old was finishing his round of questions when the last one came with a familiar voice. Rodman, equipped with a mic, had a tough question about his serving speed performance. “So, how did it feel not being able to serve faster than 135[mph] today?” she asked.
When Shelton realized who it was, he put his hand on his head, smiling. “Why’d you guys give her a question?” he asked. “My orders from the boss over there,” someone replied.
Rodman continued with a funny troll, “I just know you like to serve big, and it wasn’t breaking 140 today.” Shelton is known for his fast serve and is recognized for hitting 143, 149, and his fastest recorded serve ever, 150. He’s ranked number 19 in the world, with the #1 being Sam Groth in 2012 at the Open Challenge Tennis, where he hit 163.7.
© GettyBlushing but still taking the conference and question seriously, Shelton responded, “Yeah, it was cold outside. So, I think that was the main reason.” “I was focused on hitting spots and I didn’t hit those spots, so maybe I should just serve bigger – but, something I’ll definitely work on next time,” he continued.
As he grabbed his stuff to go, he made one last remark, joking into the mic, “Gosh, they let anyone in the room at this point, huh?”
© GettyOf course, it’s all fun and games. Rodman has been his biggest cheerleader. Earlier this week, he gave her a sweet shoutout in front of the crowd for doing everything necessary to watch him compete. “My girlfriend took the red eye from California last night to be here,” he said after defeating Ignacio Buse on August 24th. The camera panned to the soccer player, who happily blushed, wearing pants dedicated to him with “Big Ben” and his last name down the front.
If all goes well and he wins the tournament, Rodman may be his lucky charm. Shelton, sitting at No.6 seed in the tournament, will compete again on August 29 in the third round against Adrian Mannarino.
As for Rodman, she returned to the soccer field for the first time in nearly four months due to an injury, on August 3rd, scoring the winning goal against Portland Thorns FC.
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