It’s a story so romantic that you would think that it is the plot of a Hallmark Valentines movie, but former world No. 1 tennis player Garbine Muguruza is living the fairytale out in real life.
The two-time Grand Slam champion married a model that she met when he asked her for a selfie in the streets of New York City three years ago.
Muguruza, the former world No. 1, and Arthur Borges tied the knot in an intimate ceremony in Marbella, Spain, earlier this month.
The couple met when the Venezuela-born tennis star was competing in the 2021 US Open. But their initial encounter was in Central Park as opposed to near the Billy Jean King National Tennis Center.
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Muguruza had been staying in Manhattan for the tournament and got out of her hotel for some fresh air when she ran into Borges.
“My hotel was close to Central Park and I was bored, so I thought I should go for a walk,” she told U.K.’s The Sun in 2023.
“I go out and I run into him on the street. Suddenly, he turns and says, ‘Good luck at the US Open.’ I was left thinking, ‘Wow, he’s so handsome.’”
The two posed for a picture and went their separate ways that day, but continued to meet regularly in the park.
“It’s a total movie,” she told Spanish outlet Hola! “I knew I would marry him even before he asked me. When we met, it was love at first sight and we realized very quickly that we were an ideal couple.”
Muguruza, who retired from the sport this past April, wore an elegant Mikado A-Line dress designed by Pronovias on her big day and showed off a crystal-trimmed collar and a six-foot train in an Instagram post.
For the reception, she switched into a flapper-inspired strapless column dress with crystal fringes and embroidered flowers.
Borges wore a Navy tuxedo with matching bowtie and cummerbund.
The couple had announced their engagement in May 2023 through a joint Instagram post.
“You had me at ‘Hello,’” the post was captioned.
Muguruza won the French Open title in 2016 and Wimbledon in 2017 during her outstanding 12-year career.