Daria Gavrilova, or Dasha, as she is known to fans, has been on a rollercoaster ride since meeting longtime Australian boyfriend (and fellow professional tennis player) Luke Saville at the junior Davis Cup five years ago.
Gavrilova ended 2015 ranked number 36, and she began 2016 in top form, conquering Elina Svitolina in the Hopman Cup to contribute to team Australia Green’s victory and making it to the fourth round of this year’s Australian Open.
All the while the Russian native has been adjusting to life as a newly-minted Australian citizen and living with boyfriend Saville, with whom she’s been together since 2011. Gavrilova and Saville bonded over being top junior players, and are now adjusting to competition on their respective professional tours. He is reported to have been one of the main influences in Dasha’s transition to Aussie citizenship.
This past Saturday, Gavrilova and Saville took the chance to join as doubles partners in Australian Open competition against Yaroslava Shvedova and Aisam-ul-Haq Qureshi. Although the duo lost 6-4 7-6(5), they were proud of their collective performance and would welcome the chance to play together again.
With her feisty on-court play and upbeat demeanor, Dasha is quickly becoming a fan favorite, but we can only hope that her relationship with number-one fan Luke Saville (shall we nickname them “Duke”?) withstands the test of time and becomes a fixture in our WTA Players and their Love Partners section. (photos: Jimmie48, Daria’s Instagram)
Gorgeous couple! Gotta love that Daria. I think she’s so cute and such a joy to watch during her tennis matches. I wish them all the best and sincerely hope the relationship is everlasting.
I love them both and I’m becoming a Dasha fan now. I really love her feisty attitude and her style of play. I know she’ll be a permanent fixture in the Top 20 soon.