5 tennis power couples in 2024 ft. Stefanos Tsitsipas-Paula Badosa, Gael Monfils-Elina Svitolina
Tennis as a sport has enthralled its audiences for centuries now and has presented a range of storylines based on and off the court.
Be it a player’s journey from the first time he/she held a racquet to him/her acquiring the World No.1 rank, or one about their rise from the ashes of injuries, the wholesome world of tennis has a lot to offer and talk about.
Similarly, In the pursuit of a tennis career, many tennis players have found love in another player on tour and some of these relationships translated to present tennis with some power couples.
With that said, let’s take a look at some of the power couples dominating today’s tennis atmosphere:
#5 Denis Shapovalov and Mirjam Bjorklund
Former World No.10 Denis Shapovalov has been in a relationship with Sweden’s Mirjam Bjorklund since 2019 and the couple got engaged last year. The Canadian proposed to Bjorklund in her home country Sweden, in the seaside city of Bastad.
Shapovalov's relationship with Bjorklund was in the limelight after the former Wimbledon semi-finalist penned a letter in support of equal prize money for men and women tennis players in The Players' Tribune, and attributed the education that channeled this realization to Bjorklund.
“I used to be naive about tennis. When I started out, I kind of assumed that male and female pros were treated the same way. It just made sense, you know? I mean, why would it be any different? Then I met my girlfriend, Mirjam Björklund, and she really opened my eyes.”
Shapovalov and Bjorklund actively shares clips from their lives and relationship on Instagram.
#4 Fabio Fognini and Flavia Pennetta
With a career-high ranking of World No.9 Italy’s Fabio Fognini has been a part of some memorable matches including the 2015 Australian Open doubles championship along with Simone Bolelli which made the duo the first Italian men’s pair to win a major Grand slam title.
In addition to the same, Fognini is married to another significant name from Italian tennis - Flavia Pennetta, who won the US Open in 2015 and the women’s doubles title at the Australian Open in 2011.
Pennetta has also former World No. 1 Carlos Moya in the past but eventually found a life partner in her compatriot Fognini.
The power couple got married in 2016, two years after they started dating and are currently parents to three kids.
#3 Katie Boulter and Alex De Minaur
Britain's Katie Boulter and Australia’s Alex De Minaur have become one of the most well-known couples in tennis these days.
Earlier this month, Boulter won the San Diego Open while her boyfriend and current World No.10 De Minaur emerged victorious in the Mexican Open around the same time.
While both of them contested in Wimbledon as mixed doubles partners last year and failed to go past the first few rounds, they have been faring pretty well in the singles category with the sight of one supporting the other during important matches being common.
The two began dating in 2020 and do not shy away from praising their other half.
During a post-match interview at Wimbledon 2022, De Minaur publicly praised his girlfriend for her win against previous finalist Karolina Pliskova, saying (as quoted by Express):
"Before we talk about my match, can we just talk about Katie Boulter today? I mean, she had a pretty good win herself."
Similarly, Boulter later told Tatler magazine that De Minaur was an extremely supportive boyfriend and said:
"I couldn't ask for any better, he's the best support I've got."
#2 Stefanos Tsitsipas and Paula Badosa
Former World No.2 Paula Badosa went public with her relationship with former World No.3 Stefanos Tsitsipas last year.
Hailing from Greece and Spain respectively, Tsitsipas and Badosa, always keep sharing glimpses of their relationship on social media and have often been present to show their support at the other's matches.
With Badosa struggling with back injuries since 2022, something that has prevented her from giving her best on court, Tsitsipas has been her rock throughout the journey.
Tsitsipas recently said in a post-match press conference in Indian Wells that the recovery process was difficult for Badosa but also for him.
“It does create a difficult time for not just Paula but me, as well, having to be there and keep pushing her to kind of get well and jump back on the court," the Greek said.
“I'm just there as much as I can to keep making her feel good that at least we are together and we're trying to find a solution together," he added.
#1 Gael Monfils and Elina Svitolina
Having been romantically involved since 2019, French tennis player Gael Monfils and Ukrainian tennis player Elina Svitolina got married in 2021.
The couple have a joint Instagram account titled "G.E.M.S Life", which stands for Gaël Elina Monfils Svitolina.
Talking about how things changed soon after they got married, Svitolina said (via The Sun):
"Tennis-wise nothing really changed. We are still practising sometimes together. Sometimes we try not to talk too much about tennis,"
She added, "For me to have Gaël next to me it's actually very lucky in our situation that we are both at the top of our sport so we are travelling pretty much to the same tournaments.
"That's really lucky in a way that we found love for each other and we do the same thing. We play tennis. We have the same goals. We're just helping each other in the way that we can help."
In addition to being dedicated tennis players Monfils and Svitolina are also extremely supportive spouses, as exemplified by Svitolina asking about her husband’s match during her own against Pavlyuchenkova at the US Open last year, one that the Ukrainian went on to win.
Talking about the equation that he shares with his wife, Monfils further said (via The Sun):
"She knows that I need to feel good most of the time to deliver. She knows me quite well and she always has a good word when something comes up maybe outside of tennis or wherever to bring me back on my goal," he said.
"At the end of the day I mostly say to people, you know, tennis, it's something but it's not our life. Our life is way different," he added.
Monfils and Svitolina have a daughter together named Skai, who was born on October 15, 2022.