While Trinity Rodman and tennis star Ben Shelton made it official less than six months ago, they’ve quickly proved to be one another’s biggest cheerleaders. Just days before the Washington Spirit striker made her long-awaited return to the court, Shelton hyped her up on social media. Despite being amid the National Bank Open, Sheldon shared Rodman’s new collab with Adidas on his Instagram story.

“My GOAT (emoticon),” Sheldon added in the closed captions to voice his support. Similarly, Rodman has been diligently watching her boyfriend compete in the National Bank Open. While the 22-year-old has already impressed Rodman with his skills on the court, the soccer icon recently made it clear that she doesn’t get everything about tennis. “I’ve asked Ben some of these questions, and his explanations still don’t really give me any clarity,” Rodman confessed on TikTok. So who better to ask than the fans?

Some things confused Trinity Rodman

After watching her boyfriend defeat Alex de Minaur in the National Bank Open quarterfinals in straight sets (6-3, 6-4), Rodman immediately floated some questions for tennis fans. The first one, and the one that annoyed her the most, was when the ball hit the net, and the one who got the point apologized. “They’re, like, putting their hand up, like, ‘Sorry, man!'” said the forward.

What Rodman couldn’t understand is why tennis players do that. After all, they intend to score the point. Naturally, she compared it to the scenario of the forward apologizing to the keeper for scoring a goal off the post. “If I were to hit the crossbar, hit the post, and it goes in, it’s like me apologizing to the keeper,” Trinity Rodman explained in her TikTok. But question no. 1 was just the beginning.

The 23-year-old’s next question was about the heavy emphasis on restraint and etiquette even when scoring points. While she understood that acting ecstatic after every point would be “crazy,” the opposite is also true when a tennis player is perceived as “cocky” for celebrating at all. And then there’s the dress code, or rather, the lack of variety between opponents.

Take Wimbledon, for example. Not just the players but even the fans diligently follow the tradition of wearing all white at Wimbledon matches. However, that’s another thing Rodman doesn’t get. “Ben played (Flavio) Coboli the other night, and, like, it’s like the Spider-Man meme,” the soccer star said in her video, because they were wearing nearly identical outfits.

One again, that’s in stark contrast to the different jerseys the two opposing teams sport on the soccer field. The other two weren’t really questions but rather suggestions, and they had to do with changeovers. Firstly, Trinity Rodman suggested that the players should choose the song that plays during changeovers. The bigger demand was to extend the 90-second changeover duration.

“You go to the bathroom, you miss three games ’cause you have to wait then to go back in,” she said before. Yet, the Washington Spirit star didn’t ask any more questions at the risk of sounding “stupid” and concluded the video. Thankfully, the fans didn’t think her questions were stupid, as the video currently has 137 comments. That being said, Ben Shelton isn’t the only one finding success right now.

The Washington Spirit stars’ grand comeback

While Ben Shelton has found success at the National Bank Open, Trinity Rodman was cooking up her comeback for months. With Rodman’s chronic back injury severely limiting her ability to play, the soccer star took an extended break from the sport. The striker last suited up in the Washington Spirit’s colors in April, before finally returning to the field against Portland on Sunday.

While Rodman didn’t enter the fray before the 76th minute, 15 minutes was all she needed to score the winning goal for the Spirit. Courtney Brown linked up with Croix Bethune, who found Rodman unmarked, catching Portland’s defense by surprise in the 92nd minute. Rodman pounced on the opening and smashed the ball past the goalkeeper, taking the score line to 2-1.

“It simply had to be Trinity Rodman,” the NWSL posted as the 23-year-old stunned Portland in the dying minutes. “Being back with the team, especially at home, with the stadium and the crowd behind me, scoring a goal like that – you saw I buried it. I was not going to miss it. I’m just really happy to be back. I missed the team. I missed doing what I love,” Rodman said in the post-match interview.

Naturally, her biggest cheerleader couldn’t pass up this opportunity to hype up his girlfriend. “Plays 15 mins first game back and scores a banger,” Ben Shelton shared on social media. However, now it’s his turn to face a huge challenge, as the tennis star will take on Taylor Fritz. Thankfully, the youngster doesn’t seem nervous ahead of the semifinal.

“Really excited. He’s a big-match player. He’s been carrying the flag for the United States in the big tournaments as of late,” Shelton told the media. Taylor Fritz has indeed carried the USA flag this year, especially after reaching the Wimbledon semi-final, where he lost a hard-fought match to runner-up Carlos Alcaraz. While anything can happen in the semis, it’s safe to say Trinity Rodman will be there for him no matter the outcome.