Two sporting titans have officially collided in the best way possible, with Ben Shelton and Trinity Rodman subtly confirming their relationship to hundreds of thousands of fans.
Buried among a slew of casual photos posted by the American tennis star to Instagram this week was one of Shelton, 22, and Rodman, also 22, cosying up in an elevator.
“I been focused, but I’m steady climbin’, I’m nowhere near my peak,” Shelton captioned the post, which, in a sentiment echoed by 21-year-old tennis champion Coco Gauff in the comments, is the couple’s “hard launch”.
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Hundreds of fans and fellow athletes, including Gauff, flooded the post with comments, including Rodman herself.
“Shooters shoot I guess 🤭👀,” Rodman commented on her beau’s post.
Shelton is, of course, currently ranked World No. 17 after making the semi-finals at the 2025 Australian Open in January and the quarterfinals last week at Indian Wells.
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He’s currently in Florida for the Miami Open, practicing against Australia’s Alex de Minaur this morning.
Rodman, meanwhile, is notably the daughter of five-time NBA champion Dennis Rodman, though the Olympian is a successful athlete in her own right.
She plays as a forward for the United States’ National Women’s Soccer League team Washington Spirit, and also in the country’s national women’s team – notably, Rodman played as a member of the United States team that took out gold at Paris 2024.
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In December, Rodman opened up about her strained relationship with her father, telling Call Her Daddy‘s Alex Cooper she does not view him as her dad.
”He’s not a dad. Maybe by blood, but nothing else,” she told Cooper in an episode titled ‘The Truth About My Family’.
“Hearing his voice is painful.”
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Despite her father reportedly earning more than $US43 million (approx. $67.6 million) in salary across his 20-year NBA playing career, per SpotRac, Trinity Rodman claimed she had at one point been forced to live in a car.
“We had [a Ford] Expedition and we kind of lived in that for a little bit,” she told Cooper.
“We tried to live with him, but he’s having parties 24/7, he is bringing random b—-s in. He loves the spotlight. He loves the cameras,” she claimed.
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“Before the divorce [from her mother Michelle Moyer in 2012] happened, my dad was actually helping money-wise,” Rodman continued.
“He would actually give money to my mum and let us kind of live life a little bit, but then when the divorce happened, it was just like, ‘F–k you guys’,” she claimed.
“I think he’s an extremely selfish human being,” Trinity Rodman said. “I think everything has always been about him.”
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Shortly after, Dennis Rodman addressed his daughter’s criticism, writing in a since-deleted public Instagram post addressed to Trinity Rodman: “Sorry I wasn’t the Dad you wanted me to be but either way I still tried and I still Try and Never will Stop.”
“I will keep Trying even when you’re being told as an adult not to respond to my phone calls. I will try even when it’s difficult and if it takes a long time.
“I’m always here And tell you all the time [whether] it’s your voice or voicemail how proud I am.”
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“I always had one wish and it was I wish my kids would call me and come see me. Hopefully one day I can get that,” the 63-year-old former athlete continued.
“I’m here and I’m still trying to pick up the phone. You have my number, You see me calling, I’m still here.
”[I] actually flew in to watch you play [at Paris 2024] and was told not to show up [because of] who I was with instead and me just wanting to support you,” he claimed.
“So I watched you from my hotel balcony just to make everybody happy. I love All My Kids,” Dennis Rodman said.
Dennis Rodman met Trinity Rodman’s mother, Michelle Moyer, in 1999. Trinity Rodman’s brother – Dennis ‘DJ’ Jr. – was born in 2001, followed a year later by the Olympic footballer.
The couple married in 2003, before Moyer filed for divorce in 2004. After a period of reconciliation, they finalised the divorce in 2012.
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The NBA rebounding champion, who did not meet his own father until his late 30s, had previously spoken out about his desire to be a better parent.
“For some reason, it’s very hard for me to break out of that cycle,” Dennis Rodman told ESPN in 2019.
“I never had anyone to ever do that for me.”
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