Aryna Sabalenka has been photographed sharing some tender moments with boyfriend Georgios Frangulis on court in Melbourne as she aims to win her third straight Australian Open.
The world No.1 and her superfood entrepreneur partner shared a kiss and looked besotted with each other as the star had a practice session at Melbourne Park on Tuesday – soon after she sparked speculation they are engaged with a post on Instagram.
Sabalenka treated her followers to a series of pictures of her and Frangulis, with one featuring a shot of her wearing a gold ring with a huge gemstone on the ring finger of her left hand.
Many of her fans jumped to the conclusion that her man had popped the question, but Sabalenka replied to one by writing: ‘No guys, it’s just a beautiful ring, we are not engaged.’
The 26-year-old went public with the romance in May last year, sharing a photo of them together after she fell to Iga Swiatek in the Italian Open.
That came two months after her ex-boyfriend, Belarusian ice hockey star Konstantin Koltsov, died after jumping from a hotel balcony in Miami in a tragedy that left the tennis star shattered.
Love-all: Aryna Sabalenka and her boyfriend Georgios Frangulis looked besotted with each other as she practised in Melbourne on Tuesday
The world No.1 went public with her romance with the Brazilian entrepreneur last May
Sabalenka will be looking to make it three women’s singles crowns in three years when the first Grand Slam of 2025 begins on Sunday
In July, Sabalenka described Frangulis as the ‘love of my life’ as the couple enjoyed a holiday after injury forced her to withdraw from Wimbledon.
Born in Brazil, Frangulis is the founder of superfood brand Oakberry, which sponsored the Haas F1 team and formed a partnership with Sabalenka after the romance began, and she created an acai bowl of her own for the brand.
He studied law before becoming an entrepreneur and has a strong interest in motor sport, having driven in 128 races of Brazil’s Porsche 911 GT3 Cup competition.
Frangulis often posts touching messages to his partner on Instagram, writing ‘I’m in love with the queen of NY’ when the pair were photographed together after she won last year’s US Open at Flushing Meadows.
When Sabalenka captioned a recent post showing them together with ‘Tis the season for silly couples pictures, good outfits, and great food,’ he responded with, ‘Always silly never boring, te amo,’ using the Portuguese term for ‘I love you’.
Koltsov and the Sabalenka were together for three years before his death and the Grand Slam champion later opened up about how she dealt with his passing.
‘Once, I lost my father and tennis helped me to go through that tough loss,’ she said.
This photo of Sabalenka wearing a ring with a huge gemstone on her left ring finger had many of her fans believing she was engaged to Frangulis
The loved-up couple are pictured kissing on a holiday in Rome last year
‘So at that moment [of Koltsov’s death] I thought I had to just keep going, keep playing, keep doing my thing to separate my personal life from my career life.
‘But at the end I would say I was struggling a lot healthwise because I didn’t stop. It was really emotional and really stressful, and kind of damaged my mental health at that point.’
Sabalenka referenced those struggles recently as she discussed what she wants to be known for.
‘My dream is to inspire people, to be a fighter and to be an example of not giving up and going through whatever life throws at me,’ she told Harper’s Bazaar Australia.
‘If someone can look at me and think, she did it, and she was strong, and I just have to do the same and I can go through it, I’ll be really happy.
‘I would love to inspire people to be strong and never give up.’
The reigning singles champion is a huge favourite to make it three titles in three years in Melbourne, paying $3.25 with one of Australia’s biggest bookmakers, with America’s Coco Gauff next at $5.
Sabalenka sent a message to her rivals when she came back from a set down to take the final of the Brisbane International over Polina Kudermetova last Saturday.
Iga Swiatek looms as one of the rivals who can derail her campaign to win the first Grand Slam of the season.
‘I love the way we push each other,’ she said of Swiatek.
‘It’s not like I’m thinking about her, about her amount of grand slams. I’m just trying to push myself to the limit and see how far I can get.
‘At the end of my career I want to look back and be proud of myself.’
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