Australian Open 2019: Crazy facts about the hottest tennis WAGs
They’re the partners of some of the biggest stars in tennis. From models to moguls, these are the power couples to watch during the 2019 Australian Open.
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As far as WAGs go, the wives and girlfriends of tennis stars are less fame-hungry compared to other sports. Some of them are so low-key, you’d hardly recognise them even when they’re sitting courtside at Rod Laver Arena during the Australian Open.
There’s no Victoria Beckham-style equivalent to the Footballers’ Wives soccer WAG cliche, possibly because tennis is an individual sport and there’s less competition among the “TWAGs” (as they’ve been dubbed).
They’re at matches, often discreetly, to actually support their partners, rather than be seen as part of a famous clique.
These are some faces to watch on the tennis WAG scene in 2019.
RAFAEL NADAL AND XISCA PERELLO
Rafael Nadal gave a rare insight into his private life with long-term girlfriend Xisca Perello, 30, attending the Australian Open for the first time in years.
Perello — who works in insurance and is the project director for the Rafa Nadal Foundation — has avoided the spotlight during their 14-year relationship. She’s rarely noticed at his matches.
Perello joined Nadal, 32, at the Open for the second time since they began dating in 2005 and she has been spotted courtside for every match Nadal at this year’s tournament.
Usually, Nadal refuses to speak about his personal life but gave a rare insight into his relationship during an interview on Sunday with Jim Courier.
“You guys have a day and a half off, and I’m wondering what do you … like to do when you’re not working here in Australia, when you have a bit of time?,” Courier asked Nadal.
Courier anticipated Nadal wouldn’t appreciate being quizzed about his girlfriend, saying, “I told you, you weren’t going to like it (the question).”
Nadal’s response: “As I say to you a couple of years ago in 2017, I think it was the first time she was able to be here, that she had received a wildcard in that moment and now after 14 years together she doesn’t need wildcards,” Nadal said, of his girlfriend’s attendance.
“She comes wherever she wants.”
SERENA WILLIAMS AND ALEXIS OHANIAN
Tennis star Serena Williams is married to Alexis Ohanian — a hugely successful tech entrepreneur who co-founded social news site, Reddit.
Ohanian — who is worth $A12.5 million — is a regular courtside at Serena’s matches, which he attends with the couple’s one-year-old daughter, Olympia.
He co-runs an Instagram account for the tot (whose full name is Alexis Olympia Ohanian Junior), @olympiaohanian.
The New York-born mogul, 35, penned the book Without Their Permission: How the 21st Century Will Be Made, Not Managed and tied the knot with Williams in November 2017.
The star-studded wedding attended by Kim Kardashian, Vogue editor-in-chief Anna Wintour, and Eva Longoria.
MILOS RAONIC AND CAMILLE RINGOIR
New on the tennis WAG scene is Camille Ringoir, 25, the model-girlfriend of Canadian star Milos Raonic.
The couple are said to have been dating since September last year, though the Belgian model has so-far not posted about Raonic to her 40,000-plus Instagram followers.
In December, Ringoir — who has been in Melbourne during the Australian Open and was in Raonic’s players’ box at the US Open in September — posted a racy topless photo to social media late last year.
Ringoir — who has a resemblance to Kendall Jenner — apparently started modelling when she was 13-years-old.
DONNA VEKIC AND STAN WAWRINKA
They’re fast-becoming a tennis power couple, both on — and off — the court. But their coupling has not been without headlines.
Swiss player Stan Wawrinka, 33, has been dating Croatian star Donna Vekic, 22, since 2015. Wawrinka was previously married to ex-wife Ilham Vuilloud for six years, before divorcing in 2015.
Vekic was the subject of a poor-taste sledge from Australian Nick Kyrgios in 2015, after he told Wawrinka that fellow player Thanasi Kokkinakis had “banged your girlfriend”.
The incident made headlines and led Kyrgios to be filed $US10,000.
“It’s a very disappointing thing to be happening in our sport and I hope it won’t happen again because it’s not a very good image,” Vekic told a Canadian newspaper at the time.
LUKE SAVILLE AND DARIA GAVRILOVA
The tennis couple became engaged after Australian Luke Saville, 24, popped the question to Russian-Australian Daria Gavrilova, also 24, on a beach in December during their pre-season prep.
Gavrilova gushed about the romantic moment with her now-fiance, who she has been dating since they played on the junior circuit.
“I was pretty surprised,” Gavrilova said at the Brisbane International earlier this month, of the moment Saville proposed.
“But I was, like, on him (about proposing). I was like, come on.
“Every girl does it,” she added. “I honestly think if girls had to propose, it would be so early.”
“It’s like two months in, let’s get married. So I’m happy that it’s the other way around.”
NICK KYRGIOS AND AJLA TOMLJANOVIC
Australian tennis bad boy Nick Kyrgios, 23, and Croatian-born Australian player Ajla Tomljanović, 25, have been linked since 2015.
The couple split in mid-2017 after Kyrgios was seen partying with other girls in London that year.
They reunited after a brief split. Around the time they broke up, Brisbane-based Tomljanović — who is ranked 47th — deleted her Instagram feed and later, removed all photos of world No. 52 Kyrgios from it.
They seemed all smiles when they hit the court together at the Brisbane International this month.
Originally published as Australian Open 2019: Crazy facts about the hottest tennis WAGs
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