A BBC commentator has been forced to apologise for repeatedly getting the name of Wimbledon ace Ben Shelton’s girlfriend wrong.
US soccer star Trinity Rodman – daughter of NBA legend Dennis – lashed out at Andrew Castle for calling her “Tiffany” during her boyfriend’s fourth round clash on Monday.
In a fiery Instagram post, the Washington Spirit forward, 23, said: “For those who don’t know… my name is TRINITY not Tiffany.”
Trinity also took aim at the broadcaster for mentioning her estranged dad.
She wrote: “My dad’s not even in MY life. No need to bring him up during HIS [Ben’s] matches when I don’t even want him talked about during mine. It’s him and his loved ones’ moment.”
Early on in the blockbuster clash – which saw Shelton progress through to the quarter finals to face Jannik Sinner – Castle had described five-time NBA winner Dennis as “one of the greatest sportsmen of all time”.
He said: “That’s interesting. Trinity Rodman is a part of the women’s US football set-up. She’s in the national team, scored a goal in the World Cup final.
“Her father is Dennis Rodman, who is one of the greatest sportsmen of all time in my opinion.
“The greatest rebounder in NBA history and the biggest wind-up merchant of all time. Nobody wound people up more than Rodman.
“When he was with the Detroit Pistons in the NBA… they used to ruin Michael Jordan’s life. That was her dad.”
He added: “There is nobody she doesn’t know in the hierarchy of US sport. She’s a big star herself.”
As 10th seed Shelton, 22, grabbed an early tiebreak in the third set with an impressive dropshot against Italy’s Lorenzo Sonego, the camera panned to his jubilant girlfriend celebrating with his family.
The moment prompted Castle to mention Trinity’s dad again – and get her name wrong.
He said: “Tiffany Rodman there – world cup winning US soccer player.
“Daughter of Dennis Rodman – one of the finest basketball players and the greatest rebounder of all time in the NBA.”
He was forced to apologise for the blunder on Tuesday night.
A spokesman for BBC Sport said: “Andrew apologises for mispronouncing Trinity Rodman’s name during the Ben Shelton vs. Lorenzo Sonego match.”
Shelton’s sister was jokingly booed by the Wimbledon crowd in his post-match interview after he revealed that she works in a bank and needs more time off to support him.
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