Ben Shelton has really been one of the highlights for American players at Wimbledon this year, continuing to impress after the potential he displayed during the grass-court season. Seeded 10th, Shelton came into the tournament with plenty of potential. In the opening round, Shelton really showed his skills by taking care of his opponent in straight sets, only giving up five break points over two matches.

So, it was really his second-round match against Australia’s Rinky Hijikata that got everyone buzzing—not for the tennis itself, but because of a pretty dramatic interruption. There was Shelton, up 5‑4 in the third set and ready to serve for the match late on Thursday. But then, as night fell, everything came to a halt because the electronic Hawk-Eye system shut down.

“They ain’t wanna see anything else from me tonight but I’ll see yall tomorrow,” Shelton shared on his official Instagram account, sounding a bit disappointed. When they got back to playing the next afternoon, Shelton wrapped it up in just a little over a minute. He wrapped up the match in a flash, scoring four straight points—three of them aces—for a quick 6‑2, 7‑5, 6‑4 win, adding some surprising excitement to No. 2 Court.

As we moved into round 3, the American tennis star was feeling pretty confident. And he just put that out on the court. After winning the game, Ben Shelton shared his thoughts as seen on a post on The Tennis Letter’s X, saying, “I had a lot of fun. It’s always special playing at Wimbledon. It’s my 3rd time playing on Court 1. It’s a special court. Special atmosphere. I love that I got to play another time here… I’m trying to make my way to Centre Court. Maybe I’ll get there one day.” 

Shelton kept up his impressive grass-court play into the second week at Wimbledon, taking down Hungarian qualifier Marton Fucsovics in straight sets, 6–3, 7–6 (4), 6–2, on No. 1 Court. The 10th-seeded American really showed off his impressive skills and bold play from the baseline, which have been key to his journey. Using those same strategies, he managed to take charge against the determined Hungarian.

This win isn’t just another round in the books—it’s a big step closer to Shelton’s dream of playing on Centre Court one day. He was definitely the happiest man, especially with the Round of 16 coming up! That being said, he has been accompanied by someone who has been one of his biggest support systems.

Ben Shelton always has had her by his side

Ben Shelton has received some great support from his girlfriend, NWSL forward Trinity Rodman, after his Wimbledon match against Australia’s Rinky Hijikata was put on hold. That tense evening at Court 2 was something else! Just when Shelton was about to serve for the win, a video clip started popping up everywhere on the internet.

Rodman was sitting next to his mother, Lisa, who had this steady and warm gaze that totally melted hearts all over social media. Major outlets like ESPN even highlighted the moment, saying, “The way Trinity Rodman looks at Ben Shelton.” So, Shelton was pretty frustrated about how the game got suspended, and when he posted about it on Instagram, Rodman jumped into the comments with, “Yuppppppp🔥🔥🔥😤😤😤”

The NWSL forward understood how frustrated Shelton was, so she just showed up to help him during those tough moments. Rodman has always been there to back Shelton at major events, like Wimbledon. Now that Shelton is heading into the round of 16 against Italian tennis star Lorenzo Sonego, we’ll just have to wait and see if he can keep chasing those Wimbledon dreams.