It's (another) love match.
Four months after American pros Madison Keys and Bjorn Fratangelo announced their engagement, another ATP and WTA couple has put a ring on it: Canada's Denis Shapovalov and Sweden's Mirjam Bjorklund.
Shapovalov popped the question in Bjorklund's home country, in the seaside city of Bastad. The local favorite played at the WTA 125 event held there last week, where she lost in the second round.
The couple have been dating since 2019, and recently celebrated their four-year anniversary during Wimbledon.
Bjorklund and Shapovalov's relationship was in the spotlight this spring, when the former Wimbledon semifinalist penned a heartfelt letter in support of equal prize money for men and women tennis players in The Players' Tribune.
Shapovalov, who boasts a career-high ranking of No. 10 and is the current world No. 23, discussed in the piece how being with Bjorklund has opened his eyes and educated him about the gender gap. The piece was met with widespread acclaim from Hologic WTA Tour stars including Ons Jabeur and Jessica Pegula.
WTA players applaud Shapovalov's plea for equal pay
“But if women’s tennis gets less exposure,” he wrote, “the little girl in front of the TV may not think it could be a reality for her. She’ll never see her idol and go, ‘Look at her. I want to do that.’ And that is heartbreaking.
“So let’s give everyone the same chance. Let’s pay out the same prize-money. Let’s stop talking about reducing the gender gap. If we want tennis to be fair, it should not exist at all.”
Stars from both tours congratulated the couple in the comments, including Felix Auger-Aliassime, Katie Boulter, Gael Monfils and Sloane Stephens.
