(Instagram)
It’s been a rough year for inter-sport love.
Months after golf star Rory McIlroy broke off his engagement with former tennis No. 1 Caroline Wozniacki, Russian tennis player Maria Kirilenko has reportedly split with three-time NHL MVP Alex Ovechkin. The two had been dating for three years and were engaged at the end of 2012.
(Instagram)
According to R-Sport, Kirilenko released a statement through the Russian Tennis Federation. A translated version appears below.
“I have made a decision to break up our engagement. There are a lot of reasons, but I wouldn’t want to go in detail. I’ll say just that our relationship is over, but I respect Sasha as a person and an athlete and sincerely wish him athletic success in the future.”
Kirilenko retweeted R-Sport’s link to the article.
The high-profile Russian couple began dating in 2011 was engaged on New Year’s Eve 2012. They often heralded their love on social media and let the world know of their engagement on Twitter.
We are engaged !!!!!!! )))))))))
— Alex Ovechkin (@ovi8) December 31, 2012
Ovechkin frequently traveled to Kirilenko’s tournaments, including Wimbledon and the 2012 Olympics, while Kirilenko was often seen in Washington D.C. during hockey season.
(USA TODAY Sports Images)
http://instagram.com/p/lYwZwdLXie
The hockey star was conspicuously absent from Kirilenko’s side at this year’s Wimbledon and Kirilenko hadn’t tweeted about Ovechkin in more than a month.
One year after reaching a career high of No. 10 in the WTA rankings, Kirilenko is currently ranked No. 92 in the world due, in part, to missing a chunk of the past two seasons with injury.
(Getty Images)
