And there’s that It factor: Shelton’s intrinsic star quality has started to carry his persona beyond the baseline. He’s dating Trinity Rodman, the US Women’s National Team soccer star and Olympic gold medalist (and daughter of Dennis Rodman). He sits courtside at NBA games. He counts a personal Instagram audience of 1.3 million people (only about a dozen professional men’s tennis players have a following of 1 million or more).
“Having a big audience is a blessing and a curse,” he says. “It does kind of feel that eyes are on you all the time, and in all aspects of your life. But it is a privilege to have such a large audience; you just…sometimes, the things you post or share, they can go kind of crazy. I’ve definitely stopped posting as much as I did when I was younger. And I haven’t had Twitter [X] since I’ve been on tour. That’s one of the best decisions I’ve ever made. I think that’s the most negative form of social media there is.”
Shelton’s relationship with Rodman—which the duo hard launched in March 2025 on Instagram—has drawn attention and, like all public courtships, scrutiny. The two are relaxed about it, though; Rodman recently appeared on Kylie Kelce’s Not Gonna Lie podcast to talk about the relationship. Shelton brought Rodman up of his own accord.
“There are a few people that keep me honest,” he says. “My girlfriend is one of them. I think, with us both being professional athletes, we’re able to relate on certain things and keep things in a certain perspective. She’s a very positive person, which helps me. If I get down on myself, or feeling like I am behind in my progression, these are definitely areas that she helps a lot in. She helps me to not get ahead of myself.”
Ben Shelton and Trinity Rodman.
Getty Images
What I was surprised to learn about Shelton was that he’s fairly introverted away from the lights. He’s aware that there’s a performative element to tennis, and few current players wrap the crowd into the emotions of the game like he does (Carlos Alcaraz is comparable in this regard). But Shelton says he’s not as outgoing in his personal life.
“I think, when I’m not playing tennis, I’m somewhere in between. I can still be the fun and energetic person. But I’m a homebody. I stay at home all the time. My social battery drains pretty fast, and I kind of just do my own thing. I don’t mind being alone at all. So I think from that perspective, I’m different to how I am on court, or how people view me on court. Really, you’re not going to see me outside very much.”
