Trinity Rodman was absent from her boyfriend Ben Shelton's box during the U.S. Open men's singles final on Sunday due to a scheduling conflict with her own professional soccer match. Shelton, the 23-year-old American, faced top seed Alexander Zverev at Flushing Meadows, aiming to become the first American man to win a Grand Slam title since 2003.
Rodman, who plays for the NWSL's Washington Spirit and is the highest-paid player in women's soccer, had a match against Boston Legacy that kicked off at 1 p.m. ET, one hour before the U.S. Open final began. She was listed in the starting lineup for the Spirit.
While Rodman's soccer game was expected to conclude shortly before 3 p.m., leaving a possibility for her to attend the latter stages of the U.S. Open final, she was not present for the start of the championship match. Flushing Meadows is a short drive from LaGuardia Airport, with flights from Washington D.C. typically taking about an hour.
This marks a contrast to earlier in the week when Rodman attended Shelton's quarterfinal victory over Carlos Alcaraz. That match concluded at 3:33 a.m., and despite the late finish, Rodman drove five hours to Washington D.C. to attend her team's 11 a.m. training session later that day. Rodman and Shelton, the No. 8 seed, have been in a relationship for over a year, publicly confirming their status in early 2025.