Another tennis couple is taking their relationship to the next level. After eight years of dating, CiCi Bellis was proposed by Sam Riffice and it was the easiest ‘yes’ she said in her life.
The 23-year-old Bellis announced the news on Instagram. She shared a photo of her and her fiancé drinking champaign and captioned it “Cheers to forever.” The post also includes a photo of them kissing and the newly-engaged American couple with their families.
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As Sam Riffice explained in Season 5 of My Tennis Life, he met CiCi Bellis through tennis when they were eight years old and they were seeing each other a lot at tournaments. While they were still children, nine or ten years old, Sam would spend the weekend at CiCi’s house and they would practice tennis.
CiCi Bellis was the 2017 WTA Newcomer of the Year and a WTA player ranked 35th in the world, but persistent injuries cut her career short and she announced retirement in January 2022. After being in “the same cycle of rehab, training and injuries for three plus years and mentally/physically just couldn’t do it anymore”, Bellis decided to call it quits.
In her retirement post, Bellis informed us that she was soon to graduate in business/finance, start an MBA, all the while she was working full-time as an investment analyst for leAd Sports, a venture capital firm designed to support and grow sports and health tech start-ups.
Sam Riffice is currently ranked No.524, while his career-high was No.496. The 23-year-old American player made his ATP Tour debut as a wildcard at the 2021 US Open, where he lost in the first round to Grigor Dimitrov in three sets.
For more about the dating life of tennis stars, visit our WTA Players and their Love Partners page.
