Trinity Rodman steals a moment as Ben Shelton stuns Carlos Alcaraz overnight

Washington Spirit midfielder Trinity Rodman. IMAGN IMAGES via Reuters Connect

Trinity Rodman steals a moment as Ben Shelton stuns Carlos Alcaraz overnight

By Olamilekan Ajayi | Last updated Sep 9, 2026 10:48 AM ET

Ben Shelton put an imaginary phone to his ear and hung it up at 3:33 a.m. ET on Wednesday, and up in his box Trinity Rodman was doing the same thing back at him.

Shelton beat Carlos Alcaraz 6-7 (5), 6-1, 6-3, 1-6, 7-6 (10-7) in four hours and 28 minutes. It was the latest finish in U.S. Open history, past the 2:50 a.m. mark that Alcaraz himself set against Jannik Sinner in 2022. The No. 8 seed Shelton had been 0-17 against top-three opponents before Tuesday night.

Alcaraz, the defending champion playing his first tournament since April after a wrist injury, was seen vomiting before the final set and saw an 18-match Grand Slam winning streak end.

Trinity Rodman and Ben Shelton celebrating his victory at the US open pic.twitter.com/epfYth6GOL
— BrickCenter (@BrickCenter_) September 9, 2026

Where Shelton's phone celebration actually started

He borrowed it from Grant Holloway, the world champion hurdler who ran at Florida, and first used it at the 2023 U.S. Open after beating Frances Tiafoe in the quarterfinals. Novak Djokovic used it against him in the semifinals a round later, and Rodman has been joining in for more than a year, including at the Mubadala Citi DC Open in July 2025.

Rodman has been at Flushing Meadows throughout the tournament while playing her own season. The Washington Spirit forward was on the field for a match on Aug. 30 and in the stands at Arthur Ashe for Shelton's first-round win the following night. She wore an "I love my boyfriend" shirt for his second-round match against Hubert Hurkacz.