Heather Watson happy in love with Courtney Duffus, even though she didn’t want to date a footballer

British WTA world No.50 Heather Watson is enjoying romance with top Yeovil Town striker Courtney Duffus.

Even though Watson was a bit prejudiced towards footballers, she quickly fell in love with the 24-year-old Irishman, as he impressed her with his calmness, level-headedness and positive attitude. It’s common among WTA stars to experience a drop in form once they find a boyfriend, but Watson claims that her man has only helped her improve her tennis results:

Since we both met each other we’re both doing a lot better! He had a big part to play. He’s super positive. I don’t like to let boys have too much influence over me but he has really been a good influence.

Watson, who won her fourth WTA title after a four-year title drought in Acapulco in late February, further explained the role of her partner:

You all know I’m quite emotional. And he’s just really, really supportive. He gets up at all hours of the night, he watched all my matches in Hobart. It’s him as a character. It’s not just because he plays sports. That helps but I know there are sportspeople that don’t understand as well.

The pair met at a restaurant, the weekend of the 2019 Wimbledon finals. Watson was there with fellow tennis player Naomy Broady, and while they were waiting for their table, Duffus bought them shots at the bar. When Watson learned that Duffus was a soccer player, she thought “For sure, I’m not going to date him.” But life has strange ways of challenging our beliefs and what we get is often what we are strongly against.

The couple made their relationship public on social media in October last year. Courtney captioned one of his photos with Heather “What a woman”, while Heather praised him by saying “Get you a man that treats you like a f****g queen”.

Heather and Courtney are spending this coronavirus quarantine period together and judging by one of their TikToks, they already know each other pretty well.

UPDATE: Heather and Courtney broke up in 2022.

For more about the dating life of tennis stars, visit my WTA Players and their Love Partners page. (source: The Sun)