Alexander Zverev had barely finished celebrating his second Grand Slam of the year when he made the moment that has kept social media arguing since Sunday night.

Standing at the microphone on Arthur Ashe with the trophy at his feet, the German turned toward the player box of his opponent Ben Shelton and picked out one face in particular.

“Hey Trinity, I thought you have a game today, no?” Zverev said in his winner’s speech. “Well done to you as well. You’re the lucky charm, so. Not today, but usually.”

Trinity Rodman was seen laughing in the box next to Shelton’s team. Plenty of viewers watching along did not see the funny side.

Read also: 53 years in the making: Sunderland make history

Clips of the exchange spread across X and Instagram overnight, with users accusing Zverev of flirting with the partner of the man he had just beaten in four sets.

“Beats him for the title, now trying to steal his gal. Cold,” one comment read, per Yahoo Sports. Another called the moment “the ultimate disrespect by Zverev.” A third: “Bro won the Grand Slam trophy and still found time to drop a stray comment.”

Who Trinity Rodman is

Rodman is the daughter of NBA champion Dennis Rodman and one of the biggest names in American women’s football. She plays for the Washington Spirit in the National Women’s Soccer League and is an Olympic gold medallist with the US national team.

She has been dating Shelton since early 2025 and has been a regular presence in his player box during this US Open, at one point wearing an “I heart my boyfriend” T-shirt to matches at Flushing Meadows.

Read also: Phil Foden's red card in the Manchester derby: why his 2026-27 season could already be derailed

Rodman had spent the earlier part of Sunday on the pitch for the Spirit in an NWSL fixture before travelling to New York to catch the end of the final. She arrived in time to see the closing stages, which is what Zverev was referring to when he pointed her out from the stage.

Second major in three months

Zverev’s 6-3, 7-6 (2), 5-7, 6-2 win was his second Grand Slam title of 2026, after his Roland-Garros triumph over Italy’s Flavio Cobolli in June. He is only the second German man to win the US Open, after Boris Becker in 1989, and the fourth man in the Open Era to claim his first two majors in the same season.

For Shelton, defeat in his first Grand Slam final extended American men’s wait for a home US Open champion, a run stretching back to Andy Roddick’s win in 2003. He was the first Black American man to reach a US Open singles final since Arthur Ashe in 1972.

Read also: £100m Tonali ruled out of Anfield cup tie as Tottenham's woes mount

Read also: The £116m question: Liverpool are willing to wait on Wirtz, but Hamann isn't