E-Paper
Maria Sharapova gets on-court marriage proposal, watch her response | Video
A fan proposed to Maria Sharapova while she was playing Cagla Buyukakcay in an exhibition game in Istanbul
It was a field day for Maria Sharapova in Istanbul as she beat Cagla Buyukakcay 7-6, 6-0 in an exhibition game. Although the game was heavily one-sided, the crowd was brought to life by an over-enthusiastic fan, who decided to propose to the Russian tennis star.
Sharapova was gearing up to serve for a point when the fan shouted out loud, only for the audience to burst into laughter.
Sharapova paused for a bit and then nodded her head in a manner that suggested that she was willing to give it a thought. As she broke her silence into a frail “Maybe”, the noise from the stands at the Sinan Erdem Hall went up by several decibels.
This isn’t the first time a tennis star has had to face an on-court proposal though. In 1995, German star Steffi Graf was proposed by a fan during her Wimbledon match against Kimiko Date.
As Graf got ready to serve, a fan could be heard shouting: “Steffi! Will you marry me?” Graf composed herself and hit back stating: “How much money do you have?” The incident went down the history books as one of the funniest on a tennis court.
Sharapova, who completed the career Grand Slam by winning the French Open in 2012, is training hard for the upcoming season after she made a comeback following a 15-month suspension for the use of banned drug meldonium.
She will start her campaign next season at the WTA event in China, which starts in the first week of January.
