Love on and off court: The partners who are cheering on the biggest stars of the Australian Open

The competition has started, and tennis' biggest are hitting the court at the 2026 Australian Open.

But for some fans, the attention won't be on the players on the court, but on their partners cheering them on from the sidelines.

Here's a look at some of the biggest tennis stars at the Australian Open and the love stories that sustain them.

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Aryna Sabalenka and Georgios Frangulis

Belarusian tennis star Aryna Sabalenka has been through thick and thin when it comes to love, having found a support system with Brazilian entrepreneur Georgios Frangulis.

The couple met when the 27-year-old tennis star became an ambassador for Oakberry, Frangulis' acai bowl brand.

"We signed the contract, then we got to know each other," Sabalenka later told The Guardian in an August 2024 interview.

"Somehow, we ended up being together."

When she met Frangulis, Sabalenka was in a relationship with hockey player Konstantin Koltsov, who died by suicide in March 2024 aged 42.

Weeks afterwards, the tennis star and entrepreneur were spotted together for the first time. Sabalenka later spoke about how Frangulis was "always by her side" during the hard times.

"There was a really tough period where I was really happy to have him by my side, always cheering me up, always making sure that we are doing some fun stuff," she told PEOPLE.

At the time, she also had a shoulder injury that forced her to pull out of Wimbledon.

She then fell ill ahead of her quarterfinals loss at the French Open, making the difficult choice to miss the Paris Olympics to prioritise her health.

It ended up being good for her in the long run, as she later won her next tournament, the Cincinnati Open.

"I make sure I kind of forget about tennis and focus on the good things and enjoy my life. Even when things are going wrong in my career," she said.

"So yeah, he was my biggest support and yeah, really happy to have him by my side."

They made it Instagram official in July 2024, and a year later they took their first holiday together to Greece.

In September 2025, Frangulis was by her side when she won the US Open.

This week, the world number one emerged victorious at the Brisbane International, making a cheeky reference to her multi-millionaire partner in her victory speech.

After thanking her team on Wednesday night, she said, "And thank you to my boyfriend. Hopefully soon I'll call you somehow else, right?"

Perhaps we'll be seeing a proposal on the tennis court this Australian Open?

Jannik Sinner and Laila Hasanovic

Jannik Sinner may have been one of the most eligible bachelors in the tennis world, but the 24-year-old has reportedly been snapped up – though there's a question mark on whether or not they're still together

Danish model Laila Hasanovic, has been spotted in the player box of events like the French Open and US Open, cheering on the Italian athlete.

Sinner announced their relationship with a public declaration after emerging victorious at the Vienna Open in 2025.

"Thank you so much for the support," he began in his victory speech after winning the open.

"Everyone here, with family, my girlfriend, friends. To my whole team and also those watching at home. Thank you so much for the support."

However, it's not know if the couple are still together in more recent times as she's yet to make an appearance at this year's Australian Open.

Hasanovic has been in the spotlight before, previously dating Mick Schumacher, the son of German former race car driver Michael Schumacher.

Taylor Fritz and Morgan Riddle

Morgan Riddle, 28, has been dating US tennis player Taylor Fritz, 28, since 2020, when they matched on Raya.

He told the New York Times he had to "preface" the relationship with a reality check.

"I was like: 'Look, this is not how it's going to be. I don't have this free time. I'm going to be travelling, like, every single week.' But I also said, 'You know, it's not a bad deal – you can travel all over the world, if you're up for it.'"

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Riddle was up for it and they moved in together shortly after.

Soon they became united in a unique mission.

Riddle reflected on the early days of their relationship, telling People, "I remember when him and I first met, within the first week or two, one of the things that he told me is, 'I just want tennis to be cooler in our generation.' It's just not."

They vowed to "Make Tennis Cool Again", with Fritz using his backhand to climb up the ranks of the sport and Riddle using her social media following to promote it.

Riddle first gained her following by posting what she would be wearing to the Australian Open of 2022 on her TikTok, gradually expanding her content to vlogging the 2023 tennis tour, and even starting a short video series titled, "Wimbledon Threads", covering fashion at the tournament.

The couple have since featured together in Netflix's tennis documentary series, Break Point

In 2023, the New York Times declared Riddle "The Most Famous Woman in Men's Tennis", a title that has followed her ever since.

"It's been so nice that we've found this thing that I can do, and this thing that he can do, and our lives just work very well together now," Riddle told a reporter early in 2024.

The influencer is in Australia for the sixth time to support her partner and cover the Australian Open.

Tommy Paul and Paige Lorenze

US tennis player Tommy Paul and his fiancée Paige Lorenze are likely reminiscing on Australian Open three years back that made them into the power couple they are today.

In January 2023, the American tennis star had just won his first Grand Slam semi-finals at the Aussie tournament.

During his post-game interview, he gave a sweet shout-out to his loved ones in the stand, including Lorenze.

"It's my girlfriend Paige's birthday tomorrow," Paul told the crowd, "So, if you guys see her, make sure you wish her a happy birthday."

It was in that moment Paul and Lorenze became cemented as one of the power couples of this generation of tennis stars.

The couple reportedly first met a month before the 2022 US Open, first hard-launching on the tennis player's Instagram account.

Lorenze, 27, is a model, influencer, and owns her own lifestyle brand, Dairy Boy. Now with her proximity to tennis, she is fast-becoming one of the faces of court-side tennis style.

She is no stranger to the high-demand world of sports, having been a downhill ski racer in the past.

"I'm very aware of what it takes to have that kind of skill and determination, especially as an individual athlete. I have so much respect for all the players," she told Sportskeeda.

Her high profile has seen her acquainted with some big names, having been in relationships with Armie Hammer, singer Morgan Wallen, and NHL hockey player Kasperi Kapanen.

The power couple went even further into the spotlight when Paul revealed at the end of Wimbledon 2025 that he had gotten down on one knee after the tournament finished to pop the question.

"Forever 🤍," the couple captioned their joint Instagram post.

Casper Ruud and Maria Galligani

Casper Ruud may not have the support of his new wife Maria Galligani at the Australian Open, but he is more than ready to leave it all behind if she goes into labour with their first child back in Norway.

Not much is known about how the private couple first met, but Ruud debuted his relationship on his Instagram account in November 2018 with photos they took during trips to London and Paris.

Since then, Galligani has accompanied him across the world, appearing to support him with his family in the family box of the prestigious sporting events.

The couple announced their engagement on Instagram in November 2024, alongside several photos of them embracing on a beach. "Can't wait to marry you," the tennis star wrote.

He shared another public declaration of love after winning the trophy at the Mutua Madrid Open in May 2025, after a string of losses.

"To my beautiful fiancée, Maria, who came yesterday to support, thank you for giving me the last boost to finally get over the finish line," Ruud said during his acceptance speech.

In September 2025, the couple announced more happy news – they were expecting their first child, a girl!

They shared an Instagram post of the couple snuggled up with their dog, who is seen lying on top of the ultrasound photos. Ruud wrote, "The team is growing❤️ see you next year babygirl👼🏼."

The couple then surprised their fans, secretly tying the knot in a private civil ceremony at Oslo City Hall in mid-December 2025. They are reportedly planning a larger ceremony for later.

Now the time has come, with Ruud potentially having to run off the court and on a plane to Norway to welcome his daughter.

Venus Williams and Andrea Preti

Tennis legend Venus Williams and her new husband Andrea Preti may have come off the back of a five-day wedding extravaganza, but their relationship began in private.

Whispers of the pair dating began in July 2024, when they were seen on a boat together in Nerano, Italy.

Preti, now 37, is a former model-turned-actor and producer. His acting credits include the Italian series A Professor and the film One More Day, according to his IMDB page.

He was born in Copenhagen, Denmark, before moving to Italy as a teenager, where he became a model.

Their relationship was kept under wraps until the pair confirmed their engagement in July 2025.

Williams, now 45, confirmed the pair were engaged after her first singles match in over a year during a post-match interview.

Reporter Rennae Stubbs asked, "You are now an engaged woman. So, how has Andrea helped you in this comeback?"

Williams replied, confirming the engagement rumours by starting with: "My fiancé is here."

"He really encouraged me to keep playing, there were so many times I just wanted to chill ... do you know how hard it is to play tennis?

"You guys don't know how much work goes into this, like, it's 9 to 5, except you're running the whole time, lifting weights and just dying and then you repeat it the next day.

"So he encouraged me to get through this, and it's wonderful to be here. He's never seen me play."

The pair first tied the knot in a private Italian ceremony in September 2025, but were not legally able to sign the paperwork there, so they thought a second event was necessary.

They then decided to hold a five-day extravaganza in Palm Beach, Florida with their loved ones in December 2025.

Celebrations kicked off five days before their December 21 wedding, when the pair were treated to a yacht party by the bride's sister, fellow tennis legend Serena Williams.

"Serena gave us this gift of a beautiful yacht, and she arranged all the food, everything," Venus told Vogue magazine.

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Tennis stars whose children followed in their footsteps

"We had 10 to 12 of our closest family and friends who were in town on the boat, and we were singing, dancing, gossiping, and just enjoying each other."

This was followed by a boudoir-themed bridal shower, a dinner for family members in Miami and even a sports day where they played volleyball, tennis, dodgeball, wheelbarrow races, and pickleball.

"I didn't want to be the team captain – I just wanted to be on the team with my husband," Venus laughed before admitting, "I was mostly focused on just looking cute. When I was going through the obstacle course, I kept thinking about how I didn't want to break the strap on my dress."

Across the week, the blushing bride wore around 12 different dresses in total.

On December 20, the duo made their nuptials official in a private courthouse ceremony at Miami City Hall.

"I can't describe how beautiful, calm, sacred, and exciting it was," Venus said. "It was just a dream."

The actual wedding took place the following day, and it was everything Venus ever dreamed of. The couple made their grand entrance to Stevie Wonder's Signed, Sealed, Delivered and had their first dance to The Flamingos' I Only Have Eyes for You.

The formal reception gave way to late-night celebration, and while the groom eventually called it a night, Venus kept the energy high.

She danced with friends on a party bus until 2am, before they were "kicked out".

"We all love each other so much," she concluded. "It was just the happiest, most beautiful, sweetest day."

Sadly, Olga Danilovic knocked out Venus Williams out of the Australian Open so she's no longer taking part.

Daniil and Daria Medvedev

Daniil and Daria Medvedev are tennis' sweethearts, with their love story beginning when they were just kids.

Daria was also involved in tennis at a young age, dining with her team at a cafe near the local tennis courts when she heard the sound of a racket being thrown.

When her mum asked what was going on, they were told, "'It's Medvedev playing. You don't know him?' We went to watch him," she recalled to Tatler Russia.

The match went on for three and a half hours, with Daria recalling, "He used to fight till the end, he was prepared to do anything on court, no matter how ugly his game may look, in order to win. In this sense, he hasn't changed at all."

That fateful meeting when they were in their tweens blossomed into love years on, when they began dating in 2014.

They moved to Monte Carlo, Monaco in 2017, where they live to this day.

The couple tied the knot in a private ceremony shortly before the tennis ace played in the September Davis Cup of 2018.

Daniil made a rare public declaration of love for his wife on their third anniversary, which coincided with his winning the US Open in 2021, marking his first career Grand Slam title.

"It's the third anniversary for me and my wife. During the tournament, I couldn't think of a present. So when I went in the final, I thought, 'I need to find a present fast.'"

"When I won, the only thing I thought, if I lose I have no time to have a present. So I have to win this match. I love you, Dasha."

One year later, on October 14th 2022, they welcomed their first child into the world.

The tennis player made the announcement on Instagram, sharing a picture of his newborn daughter. "Welcome to the world baby girl," he wrote.

Soon enough, they welcomed a second bundle of joy. Daniil rang in 2025 with a surprise announcement, posting a photo of himself in a hospital bed, cradling the newborn with his first-born by his side.

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