FORMER WIMBLEDON WINNER GARBINE MUGURUZA ANNOUNCES HER ENGAGEMENT AFTER A FAIRYTALE ENCOUNTER WITH A FAN

'We have a framed photo of the moment we met, because he asked me for a selfie

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Tennis ace Garbiñe Muguruza won the second 2017, earning a place in the tennis history books with a magnificent victory over five-time champion Venus Williams, a year after triumphing at Roland Garros in the French Open.

But in an exclusive interview with HELLO!'s sister publication, ¡HOLA!, the SpanishVenezuelan star tells how it was at the US Open that she won the greatest prize of all, after a chance meeting in New York.

Concentrating hard on her career, she was resigned to being single. Then, on a stifling August day in 2021, Garbiñe stepped out of her hotel for a breath of fresh air when love crossed her path - quite literally. A handsome fan, Arthur Borges, wished her luck in the tournament and asked for a selfie.

And that was it: game, set and match.

DREAM COME TRUE

Two years later, Garbiñe, 29, is overjoyed to announce that she and Arthur are engaged.

"I didn't think I'd lost my chance to find love, but I was already saying to myself: 'Well, when it happens, it happens,' and then suddenly he appeared at the least likely moment," Garbiñe says, as she and her new fiancé pose together for the first time in our exclusive photoshoot.

"I was in New York competing in the US Open and was completely focused on the competition," she says, continuing the romantic story of how she met Arthur, who was working as director of a fashion division at Tom Ford at the time. "One day, fed up of being in my hotel room, I thought I'd go for a walk in Central Park.

"So I'm just walking down the street when I pass someone and suddenly he turns to me and says: 'Good luck in the Open.' I'm thinking: 'What a handsome guy.' "Arthur likes tennis, which is why he recognised me, but he was very shy. I was like: 'Wow, hi - who are you?' and we started talking.