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Australian tennis duo Daria Gavrilova and Luke Saville tied the knot this weekend in Melbourne at a small ceremony in front of family and loved ones.
The couple first met on the tennis circuit as teenagers and have been together ever since. They also teamed up in a number of doubles tournaments but did not, unfortunately, find success. However, that did not negatively affect their off-court dynamics.
Russian-born Gavrilova's relationship with Saville was a major factor in her becoming an Australian citizen in 2015.
The duo got married at Greenfield in Melbourne's Albert Park. Gavrilova was in a strapless white gown while her partner wore a black tuxedo.
The former World No. 20 posted a video on Instagram of herself and Saville dancing during their reception. The video's caption read:
"Reuploading cause this is a better quality video hehe! And yea we learned this of YouTube at home. It was meant to be a p*** take but we actually kinda killed it"
Gavrilova and Saville were engaged almost exactly two years ago on this very day. Gavrilova described how her former doubles partner proposed to her on the beach, saying she did not want the proposal to be a "big thing". The Herald Sun has quoted her as saying:
“He proposed on the beach, and he was like, ‘You would have been suss about anything else, because if I was dressed up — we never dress up — if we were dressed up, you would be waiting there in the restaurant or something.
"And then I see the box, and he’s like, ‘I’ve got a question to ask’, and then he proposed. He didn’t get down on his knee, but he asked. He was like, ‘Can I not get down on my knee?’ I was like, fine. Sure. Because I didn’t want it to be a big thing.”
Gavrilova and Saville's recent on-court performances
Gavrilova and Saville last played as a team in 2017 but have still been actively taking part in competitions. In 2017, Gavrilova reached a career-best ranking of 20 in singles, but injuries stalled her progress and her ranking declined drastically.
She missed most of the 2021 season after deciding to undergo surgery on her Achilles tendon. Gavrilova is currently ranked 412 in singles and 559 in doubles.
Saville has had some decent results in doubles over the past couple of years. His most notable achievement was reaching the Men's Doubles final at the 2020 Australian Open with partner Max Purcell. The duo lost to Rajeev Ram and Joe Salisbury.
The 27-year-old also competed at the Olympics, suffering first-round exits in both singles and doubles. In the individual event, Saville lost to Hubert Hurkacz in straight sets while he and John Millman lost to Austria's Oliver Marach and Philipp Oswald in doubles.
