Aryna Sabalenka Admits She’s Hopeful Her New ‘Shiny’ Engagement Ring Will ‘Distract’ Tennis Opponents

NEED TO KNOW

• Aryna Sabalenka opened up about the advantages of her engagement ring during an Indian Wells press conference on March 6
• The Belarusian tennis star raved about the comfortability of the rock and how she hopes it will “benefit” her during matches
• She announced her engagement to Georgios Frangulis on March 3

Aryna Sabalenka revealed the strategy behind her sparkle.

The Belarusian tennis star opened up about the advantages of wearing an engagement ring during tennis tournaments after announcing that her boyfriend of nearly two years, Georgios Frangulis, proposed to her on March 3.

“We double checked if there’s a possibility to lose a diamond, and there’s none, so I was pretty confident wearing this ring,” Sabalenka said at a press conference during the BNP Paribas Open at Indian Wells Tennis Garden in Palm Springs, Calif.

“It feels pretty comfy,” she added, smiling down at her rock while speaking at the podium. “It feels shiny. I hope that my opponent will get distracted by this diamond and it’s going to benefit me,” she added with a laugh.

Sabalenka’s comments came after her victorious 6-4, 6-2 match against Himeno Sakatsume of Japan in the second round on day 3 of the BNP Paribas Open at Indian Wells Tennis Garden on Friday, March 6.

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The current world No. 1 is maintaining her dominance in the tournament, which ends on Sunday, March 15. She recently defeated Jaqueline Cristian of Romania, ousting the world No. 35 6-4 6-1 to safely progress into the Indian Wells round-of-16.

On March 3, Sabalenka revealed on Instagram that her longtime boyfriend Frangulis had proposed. The news came nearly two years after they were first spotted together in April 2024.

She shared a video of the moment when her new fiancé got down on one knee to pop the question. He did so in front of an arrangement of flowers, including pink roses, and candles in front of a pool with white rose petals floating in the water alongside additional glowing candles.

“You & me, forever,” she captioned the post, adding the infinity emoji, the date, and a white heart and diamond ring emoji.

In the video, Sabalenka looked surprised when Frangulis asked her to marry him. Afterward, the couple shared a romantic embrace before the camera panned to a close-up of her large, oval-cut engagement ring.

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Sabalenka confirmed that she was shocked by the news in an update on her Instagram Stories.

She might not have known the 36-year-old entrepreneur planned to propose, but the engagement comes months after she began dropping not-so-subtle hints that she was ready to take the next step in their relationship.

In August 2025, Sabalenka responded to a couple getting engaged during a match she played at the US Open.

“I think it’s the first time that someone proposed during my match, and it was a very sweet moment,” she reflected at a press conference after the fact, jokingly adding, “I looked at my boyfriend. No pressure!”

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