The tennis romances of yesteryear: From 'love double' Chris Evert and Jimmy Connors to Lleyton Hewitt and 'Aussie' Kim Clijsters
There's more to tennis than the game, with as many eyes on the player's box as there is on the court.
From fairytale romances that ended without a word said publicly, to messy splits that captured the public's attention, we love watching tennis players in love as much as we love watching them play.
Take a trip down memory lane with our look back at the tennis romances of yesteryear and find out which couples are still friends and which players want to leave the past in the past.
Brooke Shields and Andre Agassi
A celebrity love match for the ages, Brooke Shields and Andre Agassi were huge stars when they met in 1993.
But in the days before everyone had a mobile phone, the pair got to know each other through messages sent via fax machines.
Their experience with fame bonded the pair who got engaged in 1996 and married in 1997.
But Shields had a gut feeling their marriage wouldn't last, with problems already occurring behind the scenes due to Agassi's erratic behaviour, which he later revealed was due to a crystal meth addiction.
"It hit me all of a sudden – I knew it was a mistake," she wrote.
"For the next two years, we saw very little of each other. I was working on my show, Suddenly Susan, and he was playing at various tournaments."
They divorced in 1999 after a phone call in which Agassi tried to make amends but Shields encouraged him to "fix himself".
Agassi went on to marry fellow tennis champion Steffi Graff, while Shields married director Chris Henchy in 2001.
If you or someone you know is in need of support for mental ill health contact Lifeline on 13 11 14. For substance abuse support contact the National Alcohol and Other Drug Hotline on 1800 250 015
Chris Evert and Jimmy Connors
From the outside Chris Evert and Jimmy Connors seemed like the fairytale couple of tennis.
Engaged in 1974 when they both won the Wimbledon single's titles, the media gave them the nickname "the love double".
But by 1975 trouble was brewing behind the scenes.
"We were both pretty immature. But we were kind of caught up in the story too I think. When two people are trying to be no.1 in the world, it's never gonna work," Evert told the BBC in 2017.
The wedding was called off without explanation from either player until Jimmy Connors shared intimate details about the split in his memoir The Outsider in 2013.
In the book Connors suggests Evert had fallen pregnant and made the decision to have an an abortion.
"An issue had arisen as a result of youthful passion, and a decision had to be made as a couple," he's quoted as writing in the book.
"I was perfectly happy to let nature take its course and accept responsibility for what was to come," he continued.
"Chrissie, however, had already made up her mind that the timing was bad and too much was riding on her future."
The inclusion of the "very personal and emotionally painful" experience was a shock to Evert, who had no idea Connors was going to share that information.
"I am extremely disappointed that he used the book to misrepresent a private matter that took place 40 years ago and made it public, without my knowledge. I hope everyone can understand that I have no further comment," Evert said in a statement to Reuters.
Connors wasn't expecting the backlash from Evert and the public, and revealed in an interview with ESPN that he reached out to her with a phone call but didn't reveal what was said.
Chris Evert and Greg Norman
Decades after Evert's relationship with Connors ended she fell in love with Aussie golfing legend Greg Norman.
Evert and Norman both divorced their longtime spouses, Andy Mill and Laura Andrassy, respectively, in 2006, and started a relationship together.
"We like to be with each other," Norman told Golf magazine, per People. "We enjoy each other's company immensely."
In 2007 the couple announced their engagement at a golf tournament in South Africa.
Evert went on to show off her engagement ring on The Oprah Winfrey Show during an appearance with her friend and fellow tennis champ Martina Navratilova.
"It's pretty. It's not gaudy. It's beautiful," Evert said before Winfrey commented that it's "big... It's not too big for your finger."
Evert and Norman married in the Bahamas in 2008.
"It was a beautiful three days, and we had our closest friends and family. It wasn't a million dollars or over in excess like it was reported. Everything was exaggerated. It was very low-key, and the vows were great," Evert told 60 Minutes in 2009 about their big day.
But just a year and a half later it was over.
"Chris and Greg will remain friends and supportive of one another's family," Evert's rep, Tammy Starr, told People in October, 2009.
Norman married again in 2012 to Aussie interior decorator Kristen Kutner, while Evert is believed to be currently single.
Lleyton Hewitt and Kim Clijsters
Lleyton Hewitt and Kim Clijsters four-year romance delighted the public so much Belgian Clijsters was given the nickname 'Aussie Kim'.
Their relationship is believed to have started during the Australian Open in 2000 and later that year the pair went on to play mixed doubles in Hewitt's first Grand Slam final at Wimbledon.
Clijsters, who won the Australian Open in 2011, officially making her 'Aussie Kim', has said she learnt a lot about being a professional tennis player during her time with Hewitt.
"Being in a relationship with Lleyton (Hewitt) was something that, I learned a lot from him, and from the coaches that he was working with... Just to be on court with those guys and to see how they approached Lleyton and how Lleyton worked, it was all a huge learning process for me as a young teenager," she told The Craig Shapiro podcast, per Sportskeeda.
"He (Hewitt) was very committed and focused, and just so professional. Now that I'm older, I realise how important that part of my life has been in my development in tennis. The effort, the patience."
Hewitt and Clijsters announced their engagement in December 2003, but separated in October 2004, reportedly due to tension over wedding plans.
Hewitt went on to marry Home & Away actress Bec Cartwright the following year, while Clijsters married American basketball player Brian Lynch in 2007.
Mark Philippoussis and Delta Goodrem
It was the romance that came Out of the Blue during the most difficult time of signer Delta Goodrem's life, her battle with cancer.
Mark Philippoussis and Goodrem met in 2004 reportedly at a charity event and hit the red carpet together in April of that year for the Logie Awards in Melbourne.
Later that year Goodrem released Out of the Blue, a song inspired by her relationship with Philippoussis, shortly before their romance came to an end.
Goodrem reportedly found out that her tennis beau had started dating Paris Hilton via the newspaper.
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