When Ben Shelton advanced to the Nexo Dallas Open quarter-finals earlier this week, the American was asked about his girlfriend, football star Trinity Rodman, who recently got her U.S. Women’s National Team coach Emma Hayes to do a celebratory dance with her after scoring a goal.
Would Shelton ever get his father and coach, Bryan Shelton, to do the same?
“I think there’s a better chance of a lot of things in life,” Shelton said. “I think that’s one thing that would never happen, so that’s not something I would even ask.”
But the second seed never said anything about himself. So when Rodman arrived for Shelton’s semi-final at the ATP 500 event in Dallas and the lefty battled past defending champion Denis Shapovalov, she did the same celebratory dance in the stands.
What was Shelton’s response? To smile and do the same.
“This is the second tournament that my girlfriend has shown up on the semi-finals day,” Shelton said. “I’m 2-0 in semis when she shows up for that, so happy Valentine’s Day!”
POV: Your Valentine’s date just made the @NexoDallasOpen final 🥰 pic.twitter.com/PomO0KEHEX
— Tennis TV (@TennisTV) February 15, 2026
Shelton will play Taylor Fritz Sunday for the trophy. They have split their two previous Lexus ATP Head2Head meetings.
It is safe to say if Shelton emerges victorious, another dance could be on the cards.
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