5 love affairs that began on the tennis court

'Love' literally means 'nothing' on the tennis court. But it certainly can blossom there! Tennis history is filled with stories of players who ended up being romantically linked through their shared love of the game. Here, we profile 5 couples who matched each other's skills – both on and off the court:

#5 Grigor Dimitrov and Maria Sharapova

Dimitrov and Sharapova dated for two years before calling it quits in 2015

Bulgarian ace Grigor Dimitrov has been compared to Roger Federer, but neither his skills nor his personal life compare to the Swiss legend’s. Dimitrov has found a number of relationships on the tennis court, most notably with former World No. 1 Maria Sharapova.

The pair got together in 2013, following the breakdown of each of their respective relationships - Sharapova’s with musician Adam Levine, and Dimitrov’s romance with Serena Williams.

They were together for two years, and they even purchased homes together and were reportedly engaged. They were set to marry in 2015, and Sharapova spoke of her appreciation for having a partner within the tennis world who “knew the drill.”

Dimitrov announced in July of 2015 that the pair had decided mutually to end their relationship, wishing Sharapova “happiness and success.”

Since then, Sharapova has been engaged and is currently apparently single, while Dimitrov is in a serious relationship with musician Nicole Scherzinger.

#4 Jimmy Connors and Chris Evert

Connors and Evert both won Wimbledon in 1974

Evert is widely considered one of the greatest players in the history of women’s tennis. The former No. 1 won 18 Grand Slam titles in an illustrious career that saw her end seven years between 1974 and 1981 as the world’s top-ranked player, missing out only in 1979.

Of the 56 Grand Slams Evert played in her career, she managed at least a semifinal in 52, and made 34 finals - that last number is more than any player in the history of the game – either male or female.

Connors is himself considered among the greatest in the game. The American held the year-end No. 1 ranking for 160 consecutive weeks, a record at the time, and spent 16 years in the top 10 – another Open era record to his name.

He played for an unprecedented 24 years – longer than any other player in the Open Era, and continues to hold three Open Era records. He is the only man to hold over 100 singles titles (with 109), has played 1,532 matches and won 1,254 of those.

The famously influential and foul-tempered Connors won the singles title at Wimbledon in 1974, with Evert winning the women’s. The two had begun dating two years prior, having met at Wimbledon when Evert was 17 and Connors 19. They were already engaged by the time they won their respective titles, even dancing to the song “The One that I Marry” at the champions’ dinner.

Unfortunately, their romance did not last long, and the pair called off their engagement later that same year.

Connors has gone on to discuss details of the former couple’s personal life in the media in recent years, while Evert has chosen to maintain a silence over the issues. She has since been married to and divorced from former British No. 1 John Lloyd and Australian champion golfer Greg Norman.

Evert now runs her own tennis academies in Florida.

#3 Kim Clijsters and Lleyton Hewitt

The two were once engaged, but called off their wedding

They may not be a couple any longer, but tennis darlings Kim Clijsters and Lleyton Hewitt, who were both at one time the world’s top-ranked players, were once tennis’ most well-loved couple.

The two met in 2000, at a birthday party for former World No. 1 and Hewitt’s compatriot Pat Rafter.

Getting together that year, Clijsters and Hewitt got engaged in 2003, with Clijsters becoming a popular fixture in Australia. She was nicknamed “Aussie Kim” after endearing herself to the public with her charming personality.

Clijsters and Hewitt split in 2004 following reports of a rift between the Belgian ace and the Australian’s family.

Both are now happily married to other partners - Clijsters to American basketball player Brian Lynch, and Hewitt to actress Bec Hewitt.

#2 Steffi Graf and Andre Agassi

Graf and Agassi have been married since 2001

Steffi Graf and Andre Agassi are the two halves of perhaps the most well-decorated partnership in sporting history. Graf is the second most successful female player in the Open Era, and with 22 singles Grand Slams the former World No. 1 is in a league of her own.

The last of Graf's singles Majors came in 1999 at the French Open, a tournament that the German entered as the sixth seed. She beat World No. 2 Lindsay Davenport and No. 3 Monica Seles in the quarterfinals and semifinals respectively to set up a finals clash against Martina Hingis, who had knocked reigning champion Arantxa Sanchez-Vicario out of the tournament.

Agassi had himself been the 13th seed at the tournament that year, and was responsible for the early exit of reigning Roland Garros champion Carlos Moya from the tournament. He faced and beat Ukrainian Andriy Medvedev in the final to win the title.

As the story goes, the two danced together at the champions’ dinner, which is where sparks flew.

In reality, Agassi had been enamoured with Graf for a long time, in the aftermath of the breakdown of his marriage to model and actor Brooke Shields. Graf, on the other hand, had just got out of a relationship with German race car driver Michael Bartels.

Agassi approached Graf’s longtime coach Heinz Gunthardt, who had been with the German since 1992, asking him to engineer a meeting between the pair. In an interview, Gunthardt revealed he had informed the American which practice court he had booked for his protege, and thus paved the way for the commencement of one of sport’s most enduring relationships.

The pair married in 2001, with only their respective mothers at witnesses. They had their first child, son Jaden, later that year, with their daughter born in 2003.

They continue to play exhibition matches together, and now run ‘Children of Tomorrow’, through which they support children caught in war and other crises. Although the two legends are both retired, they are regularly seen practising together on the court, in addition to their extensive charity work.

#1 Roger and Mirka Federer

Pictured at their 2009 wedding, Mirka and Roger Federer have been together since 2000

They’re regarded as the 'first couple' of tennis, but the Swiss legend isn’t the only tennis player in the Federer household. Wife Mirka Vavrinec played for the Swiss team at the 2000 Summer Olympic Games in Sydney, prior to which she was a regular fixture on the WTA circuit.

Slovakian-born Mirka, whose family emigrated to Switzerland when she was a toddler, specialised in singles, breaking the top 100 with a career-highest ranking of 76th.

Although they truly got to know each other at the Olympic Games, the pair had met before then – at the opening of a tennis museum in the Swiss town of Biel. But they were strictly acquaintances at that time.

They met again at the 2000 Olympics, when Federer pursued Mirka. The two moved in together in Switzerland a year later, and in 2002 Mirka retired from professional tennis following a recurrent foot injury. She remained on Federer’s professional team, managing his public image and persona - a role she maintains to this day.

The pair married nine years later, with Mirka giving birth to the pair’s first children, twin girls Myla and Charlene later that year. They have since had another pair of twins – boys Leo and Lennart (nicknamed Lenny).

After his 2017 Australian Open win, Federer thanked his wife for being one of the strongest influences in his life.