Trinity Rodman crashes Ben Shelton's press conference with serve jibe after American's US Open second-round win - 'Why did you give her a question?'
Updated 28/08/2025 at 13:21 GMT+1
Ben Shelton continued to delight his home crowd at the US Open on Wednesday as he secured another straight-sets victory to enter the third round of the tournament, with Pablo Carreno Busta on the receiving end of a dominant display. In the press room after the match, Shelton was greeted by a familiar face, as Trinity Rodman put him under pressure with questions around his serve during the match.
'Why did you give her a question?' - Shelton's press conference hilariously crashed by Rodman
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Despite securing back-to-back straight-set victories with his US Open second-round win over Pablo Carrendo Busta, a familiar face in the press room wanted to get to the bottom of why Ben Shelton's serve was lacking.
Trinity Rodman, star forward for the United States women's national team and Washington Spirit, has been spotted in the stands this season - her relationship with Shelton a well-documented one as they are two of the biggest sporting stars in the US.
But it was a first for the 23-year-old winger to be among the journalists after Shelton's victory, and she put him under pressure with a sly dig at the No. 6 seed's serve.
Rodman asked: "So how did it feel not being able to serve faster than 135[mph] today?"
Shelton looked embarrassed and in disbelief, putting his head in his hands before questioning the moderator: "Why did you give her a question?"
"My orders from the boss," the moderator replied, before Shelton delved into his answer.
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"It was cold outside," he said. "That was the main reason. I was focused on hitting the spots, and I didn't hit those spots.
"Maybe I should have just served bigger, but something I will definitely work on next time."
The press conference was then wrapped up - but not before Shelton quipped back at Rodman.
"They let anyone in the room at this point," he said.
Rodman was a regular attendee at Wimbledon earlier this year in support of Shelton, with the Grand Slam in London coinciding with the mandated break in the NWSL season in July.
The top-flight of women's football in the US resumed at the start of August, and it had Rodman return from a back injury which had kept her out since April.
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The Spirit forward netted a stoppage-time winner in her first appearance back from injury after being introduced as a 75th-minute substitute, sparking emotional scenes at Audi Field.
"That was the hardest thing I’ve had to go through, with the injury and everything," Rodman said in April. "So being back, especially at the home stadium with the crowd behind me, scoring a goal like that, you saw I buried it, was not going to miss it."
Rodman also scored in the 7-0 victory over Salvadoran side Alianza FC in the Concacaf Champions Cup.
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With eight days between her team's recent 3-2 win over Bay FC and Sunday's clash against Chicago Stars, the forward has found the time to support Shelton as he hunts a maiden Grand Slam as a firm crowd favourite at Flushing Meadows.
The big-serving 22-year-old has had a positive campaign, reaching the quarter-finals of the Australian Open and Wimbledon, while also making the last 16 of the French Open.
His exits have been solely at the hands of world No. 1 Jannik Sinner (Australian Open and Wimbledon) and No. 2 Carlos Alcaraz (French Open) - with both going on to win the respective tournaments.
Shelton faces unseeded 37-year-old Adrian Mannarino in the third round in New York on Friday, but could again be faced with the difficult task of Alcaraz in the quarter-final, should both make it past their next two rounds.
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