In the previous edition of this series, we took a look at the spouses and better halves of the finest and the most popular sportspersons and athletes in our very own country, India. In this second edition, we throw some light on the lesser known spouses of the world-famous sportspersons who have stolen the limelight through their outstanding performances in their respective fields.
1.Rafael Nadal and Maria Francisca Perelló
Rafael Nadal, the Spanish player, is said to be one of the finest and most consistent players in the entire history of the game of tennis. He emerged in the early 21st century as one of the game’s leading competitors, especially noted for his performance on clay. Nadal has won 14 Grand Slam singles titles, an Olympic Gold medal, and many ATP titles. He also won the Davis Cup for Spain a couple of times.
Maria Francisca Perelló, Nadal’s girlfriend has known him since 2005. The couple met each other while growing up in the same place, Palma de Majorca, an island off the coast of Spain. Perello personally has a dislike towards being a celebrity and the limelight associated with it. So, she has been making constant efforts to avoid the things that come with being a celebrity and its status. Both Rafael and Perello are shy and lead ordinary lives out of the spotlight.
2. Roger Federer and Mirka Vavrinec
One of the greatest tennis players in history, Roger Federer has won a record 20 Grand Slam singles titles. Born in 1981 in Switzerland, Roger Federer was among his country's top junior tennis players by age of 11. With his victory at Wimbledon in 2003, he became the first Swiss man to win a Grand Slam singles title. Federer has won a record-setting 20 Grand Slam singles championships. In July 2017, the tennis star won a record-breaking eighth Wimbledon title, at the age of 35.
Roger Federer first met his future wife Mirka Vavrinec, a former professional tennis player at Sydney, during the 2000 summer Olympics. In 2009, Federer married Mirka Vavrinec. That July, the couple became the parents of identical twin girls, Myla and Charlene. On May 6, 2014, the couple welcomed their second set of twins, boys Leo and Lenny. Federer lives with his family in Bottmingen, Switzerland.
3. Michael Phelps and Nicole Johnson
Michael Fred Phelps is one of the greatest swimmers who holds the record for the most Olympics medals won by any athlete at 28, including 23 gold medals and 13 individual golds. He was the first American male swimmer to earn a spot on five Olympic teams and also made history as the oldest individual gold medalist in Olympic swimming history at the age of 28.
Michael Phelps married Nicole Johnson on June 13, 2016. They remained friendly with each other despite numerous breakups in between and rekindled their relationship. After dating on and off since 2011, Phelps popped the question in February 2015. The couple was married in a private ceremony in Paradise Valley, Arizona, although their wedding was kept secret until the official news broke in October 2016.
4. L. Messi and Antonella Roccuzzo
Lionel Messi was born, 24 June 1987, in Rosario, Argentina to a working-class family. He is an Argentinian footballer widely regarded as one of the greatest players of the modern generation. He plays for FC Barcelona and the Argentina national team. He has won FIFA world player of the year for 4 times. He has often been described as Diego Maradona’s successor because of his prolific goal scoring record and ability to dribble past opponents.
On June 30, 2017, Lionel Messi married Antonella Roccuzzo, his longtime girlfriend and the cousin of his best friend and fellow soccer player Lucas Scaglia. Messi met Roccuzzo in their hometown of Rosario when he was five years old. Their marriage, a civil ceremony dubbed by Argentina's Clarín newspaper as the “wedding of the century,” was held at a luxury hotel in Rosario, with a number of fellow star soccer players and Colombian pop star Shakira on the 260-person guest list.
5. Novak Djokovic and Jelena Ristic
Novak Djokovic of Serbia is currently the top-ranked player in the game of tennis today. Novak Djokovic began playing tennis at age 4. After a steady ascent to the top levels of the sport, he won the Australian Open in 2008 and led the Serbian national team to its first Davis Cup win in 2010. In 2011, he claimed three of four Grand Slams and compiled a 43-match winning streak en route to the world's No. 1 ranking. With his first French Open win in 2016, he became the first man since Rod Laver in 1969 to hold all four major titles at once.
Djokovic began dating Jelena Ristic in 2005. Novak and his wife Jelena Ristic met as teenagers in Belgrade and dated for 9 years, before marrying. They now have a child together. It was instant chemistry since Jelena was an athletic enthusiast and one of the most beautiful girls in the city to boot. The couple became engaged in 2013 and wed on July 10, 2014 – just days after his Wimbledon win. The couple welcomed their first child, a son named Stefan, on October 21, 2014.
6. Serena Williams and Alexis Ohanian
Serena Jameka Williams is an American professional tennis player who has held the top spot in the Women’s Tennis Association (WTA) rankings numerous times over her stellar career. Williams began intensive tennis training at age three. She won her first major championship in 1999 and the Grand Slam in 2003. Serena has also teamed with sister Venus Williams to win a series of doubles titles. In 2017, she defeated her sister at the Australian Open to claim the 23rd Grand Slam singles title of her career.
Williams became engaged to Reddit co-founder Alexis Ohanian, who goes by the handle name "Kn0thing" on the site. The 37-year-old claims that she met Alexis at a point of her life when her romantic life was her least concern. They met in 2015 and got engaged in October 2016. The couple was in spot light when Serena was pregnant and news of her complications in being able to give birth surfaced the internet. The duo is blessed with a baby girl named Alexis Olympia Ohanian Jr. "Alexis doesn't dim my light", she says.
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