You could barely believe your eyes. There she was, 26-year-old Paige Lorenze, climbing uninvited on to the court at the Queen’s Club Championships to pose for pictures with her boyfriend Tommy Paul, for all the world as though she, not him, had actually won last week’s tournament.
It was an effortless and totally inappropriate upstaging. As she clasped one handle of the trophy, she was even wearing a teeny tiny dress that looked just like tennis whites!
Placing red talons around his neck, she dragged his head down to her level for a photo, which swiftly went viral.
American Tommy looked miserable, a man who’s perfected the art of swinging a racquet outmanoeuvred by a woman whose only talent appears to be to swing her hair.
I used to watch Wimbledon and when the camera landed momentarily on Roger Federer‘s wife Mirka, for example, or Kim Sears (wife of Andy Murray), or Jelena Djokovic, as they sat cool and calm behind giant sunnies, I would marvel at their supportive stoicism.
Morgan Riddle, 26 is the latest partner of Taylor Fritz – she can often be found posing in designer outfits and travelling around with her tennis-pro boyfriend
Ms Riddle and Mr Fritz posing together on the red carpet. The influencer recently posted a video captioned ‘When you start dating a professional tennis player and literally all you do is travel the world, dress cute, drink champagne and go to Wimbledon.’
Paige Lorenze might now be dating Tommy Paul but the glamourous model is a former competitive skier, and the owner of a cottagecore lifestyle and clothing brand Dairy Boy
Ayan Broomfield was a player on the junior tennis circuit in 2015 but stepped away due to injury. Now she works with with beauty brands and was even cast in the tennis film King Richard
Ms Broomfield and Frances Tiafoe pictured on a private jet. the couple have been together since 2015 and unlike some of the other TWAGs she’s very much part of her beau’s tennis world
They were there to soothe and to console. Only at the most tense and critical of moments did they allow themselves a tiny whoop, the flicker of an air punch.
You could tell, when Murray looked up at the stands for reassurance, his loins were immediately girded.
This year, however, there is a new gaggle of groupies who really do believe they are the stars of the show, given they — vicariously, undeservedly — have millions of brain-dead online followers too stupid to grasp what ‘Let’, ‘First Service’ or even ‘Out!’ means.
Yes, building a personal brand as an ‘influencer’ on the back of a romantic relationship with a male tennis player is now a valid career, it seems, a symptom of the exploitation of what was once a dignified sport.
Indeed, the Tennis Wives and Girlfriends — TWAGs, as they are known, though personally I favour the collective Tennis Wives And Trophies — have no need of a bored BBC cameraman focusing in on their faces, since they are posting endless images of themselves on social media anyway.
Here is Costeen Hatzi, the ‘content creator’ and squeeze of Nick Kyrgios; Hannah Dal Sasso, model girlfriend of Australian player Thanasi Kokkinakis; and Maria Gonzalez Gimenez, the 24-year-old arm candy of last year’s Wimbledon champ Carlos Alcaraz, who often poses with a surfboard (and who would know the difference, frankly?)
The queen of them all — the most famous woman in men’s tennis — is Morgan Riddle. But the only riddle I can think of is why on earth world number 13 Taylor Fritz puts up with her.
Hannah Dal Sasso posing with her Thanasi Kokkinakis. The pair went public with their relationship in 2023 at the F1 Grand Prix in March
Costeen Hatzi posing with tennis ‘bad boy’ Nick Kyrgios. The 24-year-old spends her time between defend her partner and flying around on private jets
Ms Hatzi posing in a bikini. When she’s not jetting around to tournaments with her partner Kyrgios, she’s sunning herself on holiday
Maria Gonzalez Gimenez, 24 has been with her partner Carlos Alcaraz met when they were childhood friends and they both played for Murcia Club de Tenis in Spain
She posts videos of herself getting ready to ‘look at tennis’ on Wimbledon’s very own lifestyle channel, Threads (did you know it had one? Me neither).
Riddle is ‘thinking of transitioning to Formula 1’, apparently. Yes, the puzzle is why she hasn’t done so sooner, given that men’s boiler suits and flameproof underwear are so much sexier and edgier than a T-shirt and plimsolls.
Pushy Paige, who has a tally of famous ex-boyfriends — ‘New balls, please!’ — to rival the number of trophies on the Federers’ mantelpiece, even posted photos of her feet astride The Queen’s Club trophy last week.
It’s not yours, Paige! Did you endlessly hit a ball from the age of three or four, never have a life, a day off, any other interests at all? No!
How humourless, frozen in aspic, these women seem. Endlessly worried about angles, making a fish face for the selfies backstage or in a Vuitton-strewn hotel suite.
They all look so similar, too, cut from the same bland cloth, raised on the same prescriptive YouTube make-up tutorials.
We might roll our eyes at these women, assume they are as harmless as a chair, but these so-called influencers and fashion ‘designers’ (Paige has her own clothing brand with a strawberry theme for Wimbledon week, of course, while Costeen has launched a luxury clothing rental business) are demeaning to all womankind.
I feel sorry for the men, too, saddled with these preening princesses who probably scream ‘don’t smudge me!’ should they hove in for a kiss.
I imagine the fear of failure, pulling a hamstring, is even worse when your girlfriend is relying on you to provide fodder for her daily posts.
When Kyrgios pulled out of Wimbledon last year, Costeen posted ‘heartbroken’ with a sad face and broken heart emoji on Instagram. He’s not playing again this year, but thankfully he is commentating.
These young male stars are simple souls, which means they doubtless have no idea they are being played.
Oh, and breaking news. Tommy Paul will not be playing at Wimbledon this week due to a neck injury.
Only joking, but I think Paige just aged ten years…
Meet the TWAGS (Tennis Wives And Girlfriends)
Morgan Riddle, 26
Partner: Taylor Fritz
How they met: On the exclusive dating app Raya in 2020.
Who is she? Dubbed ‘the most famous woman in men’s tennis’ by the New York Times, Riddle was on series one of Netflix’s Break Point and has become a high-profile fashion influencer. Hermes, Gucci, Prada, Miu Miu, Max Mara and Ralph Lauren have dressed her appearances on the stands and she hosts Wimbledon Threads, a video series on the tournament’s official Instagram channel, where she asks guests about their outfits. She’s had 7.1 million views of her video captioned: ‘When you start dating a professional tennis player and literally all you do is travel the world, dress cute, drink champagne and go to Wimbledon.’ The new Posh and Becks?
Followers: 297k on Instagram, 488.7k on TikTok.
She says: ‘If his ranking had gone down, they’d say it’s my fault. The only time I really get nervous is when I see him getting nervous.’
Find her: Filming GRWM (get ready with me) videos, posing in designer outfits and trying to ‘make tennis cool’.
Paige Lorenze, 26
Partner: Tommy Paul
How they met: The model and influencer started dating Paul in 2022 after meeting him at the US Open.
Who is she? A former competitive skier, Lorenze launched her cottagecore lifestyle and clothing brand Dairy Boy in 2021. As an influencer she has collaborated with brands including Prada and FarFetch. Before Paul, she had a series of high-profile partners including country singer Morgan Wallen and actor Armie Hammer. She was branded cringeworthy online after breaking with tradition by joining Paul on court and posing with his trophy after his win at Queen’s.
Followers: 639k on Instagram, 300.6k on TikTok.
She says: ‘My fashion week is the grand slams.’
Find her: Going on horseback rides in chunky knits or public displays of affection courtside with Paul.
Costeen Hatzi, 24
Partner: Nick Kyrgios
How they met: In 2021, Hatzi was selling a mirror on Instagram and when Kyrgios showed up at her house to buy it, it was love (all).
Who is she? One half of Australia’s latest power couple, Hatzi was clueless about tennis before she became a TWAG. ‘I never really watched a tennis game in my life, so yeah, this is all new for me,’ she said on Netflix’s documentary Break Point. In 2023, she launched a luxury clothing rental business, Style Studio, and has plans to start her own beauty brand.
Followers: 177k on Instagram and 79.2k on TikTok
She says: ‘Being a WAG has opened so many doors for me, so I wish the expression was less polarising.’
Find her: Boarding private jets, doing online make-up tutorials and defending Kyrgios’ ‘bad boy’ reputation: ‘He’s not as crazy as everyone thinks,’ apparently
Hannah Dal Sasso, mid-20s
Partner: Thanasi Kokkinakis
How They Met: Started dating in 2023, went public at the F1 Grand Prix in March.
Who is she? A model and influencer, Dal Sasso runs a fashion business called Styled By Mim. In May, Kokkinakis paid tribute to Hannah after winning the French Open, admitting she was his ‘first girlfriend, probably ever’. Then there were rumours the couple had split in December 2023. But Dal Sasso did post in tennis whites with macaroons decorated as tennis balls to celebrate the 2024 Australian Open, so it seems to be back on.
Followers: 56.1k on Instagram, 33.4k on TikTok.
She says: ‘We kind of do our own things. When we’re together, we’re together and it’s great, but we have our own separate lives and separate jobs.’
Find her: Posting topless pictures of Kokkinakis and videos in glamorous hotels
Ayan Broomfield, 26
Partner: Frances Tiafoe
How they met: As fellow players on the junior tennis circuit in 2015.
Who is she? A Canadian college champion who took a backseat from tennis due to injury, Broomfield is now working with beauty brands including Bumble and bumble, and the tennis giant Wilson. Broomfield was also cast in the film King Richard, as actor Saniyya Sidney’s body double, who played Venus Williams.
Followers: 63.6k on Instagram, 9.3k on TikTok.
She says: ‘Initially, I took offence, because I think the connotation of WAG was a woman just riding off the coat-tails of her significant other. But I think we’re now working on tour, we’re now making our own money… some of the girls are more famous than the guys, so it’s like, we’ve found this new lane.’
Find her: Posing courtside in designer dresses, promoting drinks and fake tan, launching her philanthropic foundation.
Maria Gonzalez Gimenez, 24
Partner: Carlos Alcaraz
How they met: Childhood friends, they both played for Murcia Club de Tenis in Spain.
Who is she? Along with being a tennis champ in her own right, Gimenez is also studying for a law degree at the University of Murcia, so seemingly has rather more talent and brains than most of the other TWAGs. Although the two players have been tight-lipped about their relationship, in 2022 Alcaraz posted an Instagram story of him kissing her on the cheek with the caption: ‘I miss you.’
Followers: 14.5k on Instagram, 1k on TikTok.
She says: Not much yet.
Find her: Surfing, sunset poses and doing dance routines on the beach with friends.
