NEW YORK — Tennis star Ben Shelton and Olympic soccer gold medalist Trinity Rodman have become one of the most prominent couples in American sports, regularly traveling across the country and around the world to support one another’s respective careers, even as their demanding schedules frequently keep them apart.

Rodman recently detailed how the relationship began during an appearance on Kylie Kelce’s “Not Gonna Lie” podcast, recounting an unlikely first exchange that started over Instagram.

“I said, ‘You’re sick … fire emoji,’” Rodman recalled. “Shelton responded and was like, ‘Yeah, you were sick at the Olympics too.’ Yeah. That happened. He matched the cringe situation. And then I think maybe a week or two later we met in person.”

Rodman, an Olympic gold medalist in soccer, and Shelton, the top-ranked American man on the ATP Tour, first announced their relationship publicly in March 2025, fittingly through Instagram. The two have remained closely connected ever since, frequently appearing at each other’s competitions across their respective sports.

Rodman has built her own decorated career in professional soccer. She was the youngest player ever drafted in National Women’s Soccer League history at the time, at age 18, and led the Washington Spirit to their first NWSL championship as a rookie in 2021. She also helped Team USA capture Olympic gold at the 2024 Paris Games.

Shelton, meanwhile, enters this year’s US Open ranked No. 9 in the world and seeded No. 8 in the tournament. He holds seven career ATP titles and a 144-90 career record, and while he has yet to reach a Grand Slam final, he has made multiple major semifinal appearances as he continues building toward his first title at that level.

Despite frequently competing in different cities, or even different continents, at any given point in the year, Shelton and Rodman have found ways to remain closely connected and supportive of each other’s respective careers.

“It’s definitely hard … it’s like, ‘Oh my gosh, we don’t get to see each other at all,’” Rodman told USA Today Sports. “We are so good at understanding each other’s schedules and the way we operate and times when we need advice, times when we don’t. So going through that together has been amazing.”

Rodman said maintaining individual identity alongside their relationship has also played a key role in their ability to support one another effectively.

“I think we’re always so good at supporting each other,” Rodman said. “And yeah, just being individuals as well, I think has been huge for us of not getting so blended together.”

Rodman attended Shelton’s opening two matches at this year’s US Open, including his four-set, first-round win over Tallon Griekspoor on Monday and his second-round victory against Hubert Hurkacz on Wednesday, where she wore a shirt reading “I heart my boyfriend” while cheering him on from the stands.

Beyond her US Open appearances, Rodman also made a notable surprise trip to support Shelton at the 2026 Canadian Open, where he went on to win the title for the second consecutive year. Rodman flew to Montreal ahead of Shelton’s fourth-round match immediately after the Washington Spirit’s own match, a 4-3 loss to the North Carolina Courage in Washington, D.C. She described the experience of supporting her boyfriend in person as “the best feeling in the world.”

Reflecting further on that dynamic during her appearance on Kelce’s podcast, Rodman described the particular satisfaction of supporting Shelton while also understanding firsthand the physical demands he faces as a professional athlete.

“I think to know we’re both on the grind, running our bodies to the ground, always exhausted, doing what we love, and then to also be able to be a little WAG in a sense, it feels so good for us,” Rodman said. “We do enjoy it a lot because I don’t … look at him and I’m like, ‘He’s an athlete.’ I look at him like that’s my rock. And every time I do something, I just love to be able to look at him and know that we’re on the same page thinking something.”

The support has proven mutual throughout the relationship. When Rodman attended Shelton’s title-winning run at the Stuttgart Open in June, having flown in from Brazil, Shelton publicly credited her presence for his success on the podium following the win.

“I want to thank my girlfriend for flying here from Brazil,” Shelton said at the time. “I won a title at I think every tournament she’s been at this year. … I really appreciate you making the effort.”

Shelton has similarly shown up to support Rodman’s soccer career. He attended the Washington Spirit’s 2-1 win over the Houston Dash on July 3, a match in which Rodman scored two goals, including a game-winning goal in stoppage time. Following that decisive goal, Rodman ran to the stands to share a celebratory kiss with Shelton, a moment that drew significant attention on social media at the time.

The Tennis Channel has previously labeled Shelton and Rodman the most athletic couple in the country, though Rodman expressed some hesitation in fully embracing that title, instead pointing to another prominent pairing in professional sports: the Las Vegas Aces’ A’ja Wilson and the Miami Heat’s Bam Adebayo. Rodman also joked that she would be wary of ever competing in the same sport as Shelton, given his competitive nature.

“I would be scared to play the same sport, because I feel like if Ben were to say anything coachable, I would lose my mind,” Rodman said.

As Shelton continues his run at this year’s US Open, with Rodman expected to remain a visible presence in the stands supporting his progress through the tournament, the couple’s relationship continues to serve as a rare example of two elite athletes in different sports finding ways to sustain both their careers and their partnership amid demanding, often overlapping competitive schedules throughout the year.

Instagram users began flagging access problems Friday, with outage-tracking services logging a rise in user-submitted reports, though the overall volume of complaints remained within a range trackers consider typical rather than indicative of a major platform-wide outage.

According to Entireweb Status, which monitors the platform’s availability, Instagram received 181 user reports over the preceding 24 hours as of Friday, with 10 of those reports arriving within the most recent hour. The tracking service described the platform as “operating normally” overall, noting no ongoing major outages or confirmed service disruptions at the time of its assessment. Separately, StatusGator reported 38 user-submitted outage reports over the same 24-hour window, similarly characterizing Instagram as currently operational.

Instagram, owned by Meta Platforms, is a widely used social media application that allows users to share photos and videos through its mobile app and website, featuring tools including Reels, Stories, direct messaging, live streaming, shopping features and a range of business tools aimed at creators, brands and e-commerce sellers.

Even relatively modest spikes in user reports tend to draw significant public attention given Instagram’s massive global user base, which numbers in the billions of monthly active users worldwide. Outage-tracking platforms like Downdetector and its competitors compile crowdsourced reports from affected users and compare that volume against typical background activity levels to help determine whether a genuine, widespread service disruption is underway, as opposed to isolated issues affecting individual users’ devices or local internet connections.

Instagram has a well-documented history of periodic outages, some brief and localized, others significant and widespread. According to outage-tracking service NordVPN, one notable disruption in March 2026 affected the platform globally, preventing users from posting new content, refreshing their feeds, or using direct messaging, while other Meta-owned apps including Facebook and WhatsApp continued operating normally during that incident, pointing to a service-specific rather than company-wide root cause.

A separate major disruption in October 2025 was traced to an outage affecting Amazon Web Services, the cloud computing infrastructure provider that Instagram relies on for portions of its backend operations. That outage, which lasted approximately three hours, prevented users from loading their feeds, sharing new posts, or refreshing the app entirely, illustrating how Instagram’s reliability can be affected by disruptions originating well outside Meta’s own direct infrastructure.

Other notable incidents recorded by outage trackers include a March 2025 disruption specifically affecting the ability to post or view comments, and a more significant five-hour outage later that same month that generated more than 19,000 outage reports from users in the United States alone, according to NordVPN’s tracking data.

Instagram’s outage history also includes disruptions specific to its desktop website rather than its mobile application. One incident in November 2025, tracked live by Tom’s Guide, saw more than 2,600 users report problems accessing the platform, with testing at the time indicating the issue was largely confined to Instagram’s desktop version rather than affecting the mobile app, which continued functioning normally for most users throughout the disruption. That particular outage resolved relatively quickly, with reports tapering off within roughly an hour of first being detected.

The scale of user reaction to Instagram outages, even relatively brief ones, often plays out prominently on other social media platforms, with users frequently turning to X to check whether an outage they are experiencing is affecting others as well, or is instead isolated to their own device or connection. That pattern was evident during the November 2025 desktop outage, when social media commentary about the disruption spread quickly even as the underlying technical issue proved to be relatively short-lived and limited in scope.

Instagram’s parent company, Meta Platforms, has historically provided limited real-time technical detail during active outages, typically acknowledging disruptions through brief statements on its own social media accounts before providing more substantive explanations, if any, once an incident has been fully resolved. That pattern has held across multiple significant outages over the years, including incidents dating back more than a decade, when the company’s official Instagram account confirmed and later removed acknowledgments of earlier disruptions as service was restored.

For users experiencing access problems with Instagram, common troubleshooting steps recommended by technology support resources typically include verifying an active and stable internet connection, restarting the Instagram application, checking for and installing any pending app updates through the Apple App Store or Google Play Store, and clearing the app’s cache if persistent loading or crashing issues continue. Users are also generally advised to check independent, real-time outage-tracking services before assuming a widespread platform issue is responsible for problems they may be experiencing, since many reported issues ultimately trace back to individual device, network or account-specific causes rather than a broader service outage.

As of Friday, neither Instagram nor Meta Platforms had issued a public statement specifically addressing the reports logged over the preceding 24 hours, consistent with the company’s typical approach of only formally acknowledging outages once report volumes climb well beyond routine background levels. Given that current tracking data shows report volumes remaining within a range multiple monitoring services characterize as normal operating conditions, it remains unclear whether Friday’s uptick in complaints represents the early stages of a more significant emerging disruption or simply reflects the kind of routine, low-level user reports the platform typically receives on any given day.

Users concerned about ongoing access issues are advised to continue monitoring independent outage trackers, including Downdetector, Entireweb Status and StatusGator, for updates on Instagram’s service status, as these platforms typically provide the most current, crowdsourced picture of the app’s real-time availability across different regions and device types.

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Sensex gained 363 points to close at 76,515 while Nifty 50 rose over 24 points to end the session below 23,898 on Friday. Broader markets closed mixed, with Nifty Midcap 100 slipping into the red, while Nifty Smallcap 100 closed in the green.

Analyst Sudeep Shah, Vice President and Head of Technical & Derivatives Research at SBI Securities, interacted with ETMarkets regarding the outlook for the Nifty, options data as well as an index strategy for the upcoming week. The following are the edited excerpts from his chat:

1.) Sensex, Nifty have fallen 1% this week as CAS lingers. What are levels that traders need to keep in mind?

For the fourth consecutive week, the benchmark Nifty ended in negative territory. During the week, the index broke down from its rising channel on the daily chart, signaling a shift in the short-term trend. Escalating geopolitical tensions, rising US 10-year bond yields, and higher Brent crude prices continued to weigh on market sentiment. However, the index staged a minor pullback after testing 23,786, leaving the bulls with one crucial question: is this merely a pause, or the beginning of a meaningful recovery?
The technical picture provides little evidence of a sustained recovery at this stage. Nifty is comfortably trading below its short and long-term moving averages, while the 20, 50, and 100-day EMAs have started edging lower, indicating increasing bearish pressure. The daily RSI is hovering around 40 and remains below its 9-day average, while the daily ADX has moved above 20 and is rising, suggesting that the prevailing trend is gaining strength. With momentum and trend indicators weakening, the spotlight now shifts to a crucial support zone.

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That support zone lies in the 23,750-23,700 region. The zone is important as the 61.8% Fibonacci retracement of the previous upmove from 23,070 to 24,774 is placed around this region. A sustained break below 23700 could intensify the correction towards 23,500, followed by 23,300.
On the upside, the hurdle is placed in the zone of 24,150-24,200 as it is the confluence of 50 and 100-day EMA levels. A sustained move above this range would be required to ease the prevailing bearish bias and bring stability back to the index.Sensex View: The benchmark index, Sensex, extended its weakness for the fourth consecutive week and has breached its rising channel formation on the daily chart, indicating a deterioration in short-term trend structure. However, after registering a low of 76,135, the index witnessed a modest pullback. On the weekly timeframe, Sensex formed a bearish candle with a minor lower shadow, reflecting continued selling pressure despite some buying interest at lower levels.

Technically, the index is trading comfortably below its key moving averages, while the short-term moving averages have started to slope downward, reinforcing the negative bias. The daily RSI is hovering near the 43 mark and remains below its 9-day average, suggesting subdued momentum. Meanwhile, the daily MACD histogram has stayed in negative territory for the past 16 trading sessions, highlighting persistent bearish undertones.

Going forward, the 76,200-76,000 zone is expected to provide crucial support. A decisive move below the 76,000 mark could accelerate the corrective phase, exposing the index to lower levels of 75,400 and subsequently 74,800 in the near term. On the upside, the 20-day EMA region of 77,100-77,200 is likely to act as a strong resistance zone.

2.) What is your view on India Vix and what is it indicating after a 11% fall in one month?

India VIX has been in a declining trend since hitting a high of 28.90 on March 30. Since then, implied volatility (IV) has remained in a falling mode, keeping the market in a low-volatility environment.

The current IVP for Nifty stands at 28.57%, indicating that over the past one year, Nifty’s current IV of 11.34 has been at or below this level for only 28.57% of the time. This suggests that the current IV is at the lower end of its historical range.

The 12–12.5 zone is likely to act as an immediate resistance. Volatility is likely to remain subdued as long as India VIX stays below this zone.

However, the key risk in such a low-volatility environment is that any significant overnight development could trigger a sudden spike in volatility, potentially catching option sellers off guard.

3.) Where are you seeing strong option position right now and which Nifty strikes could act as immediate support or resistance zones going into next expiry?

For the current weekly expiry, the 24,200 level is likely to act as a strong resistance on the upside. Call writing at this strike is nearly six times stronger than put writing. Moreover, Nifty’s 100-day EMA is placed around the 24,180–24,200 zone, making this a crucial resistance to watch.

On the downside, the 23,700 level is likely to act as an immediate support, with put writing nearly six times stronger than call writing at this strike. The 23,800–23,780 zone also coincides with Nifty’s immediate swing low. A decisive breach below this zone could trigger unwinding of put-writing positions, potentially dragging Nifty towards the 23,500 mark in the near term.

4.) What is your view on Bank Nifty ?

The banking benchmark index, Bank Nifty, has remained range-bound over the last 23 trading sessions, oscillating within a narrow band of nearly 1254 points. This prolonged consolidation has resulted in a significant contraction in the Bollinger Bands, indicating a sharp decline in volatility and hinting at the possibility of a decisive move once the current range is breached.

From a technical perspective, all key moving averages are largely flat, underscoring the absence of a clear directional trend. Momentum indicators also reflect the ongoing consolidation phase. The daily RSI has been moving sideways for the past 42 trading sessions, while both the Stochastic Oscillator and MACD continue to fluctuate within a narrow range without providing a strong directional signal. Additionally, the trend strength indicator is positioned at 7.19, suggesting a lack of meaningful strength from either bulls or bears.

Going forward, the 57,800-58,000 zone is expected to act as a critical resistance area for the index. A sustained breakout above this hurdle could trigger a fresh directional upmove. On the downside, the 56,900-56,700 zone remains an important support region. A decisive breakdown below this support band may lead to increased selling pressure.

Overall, Bank Nifty continues to trade in a consolidation phase, and a convincing move beyond either end of the current range is likely to set the stage for the next trending move.

5.) What’s is your view on BSE, Groww, Angel One ?

BSE has been consolidating within a Rs 3,474–3,132 range since August 17. The falling ADX indicates a lack of volatility, while the MACD line has flattened out and remains below the zero line, pointing to weak momentum. A decisive breakout on either side of the range will provide further directional cues.

Groww has largely been consolidating within a Rs 221–180 range since May 12. The moving averages have flattened out, reflecting a sideways bias. The ADX is also flat, further indicating the absence of strong directional momentum. A decisive breakout on either side of the range will provide further directional cues.

Angel One has been consolidating within a Rs 308–275 range since the beginning of August. The stock recently moved above its 50-day EMA but failed to sustain above it. On the weekly timeframe, the stock has been oscillating between the 20-week and 50-week EMAs, reflecting a sideways bias. A decisive breakout on either side of the range will provide further directional cues.

(Disclaimer: Recommendations, suggestions, views and opinions given by the experts are their own. These do not represent the views of The Economic Times)

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