Ivanovic-Schweinsteiger break-up: A look at other sports power couples who have gone separate ways

Dubai: One is a former tennis Grand Slam champion and a former world No 1. The other a former footballer who has won a World Cup for his country and major club trophies. It seemed the perfect match, sports’ ultimate power couple, when they got married 9 years ago.

Yet, when the news of Serbian Ana Ivanovic filing for divorce against husband Bastian Schweinsteiger made headlines today, it did not come as much of a surprise to those who had been aware of the storm that had been brewing in their marriage since earlier in the year. The former Germany, Bayern Munich and Manchester United star and the former French Open champion had already split earlier this year as rumours of Schweinsteiger’s infidelity spread.

The duo first met in 2014 and tied the knot in 2016, a year after the German had joined the Red Devils. The ceremony took place in Venice as the footballer and tennis star made their vows.

German outlet Bild has reported that Ivanovic, 38, filed for divorce in November at the Munich District Court. The former tennis star is also believed to have filed for child support in Palma de Mallorca, Spain, according to The Sun. She lives in the Spanish city with their three sons.

Schweinsteiger and Ivanovic were last publicly seen together as they attended the Laver Cup in September 2024. And while they did share an Instagram post of themselves at a Christmas market in December, representative for Ivanovic, Christian Schertz, revealed in July that the couple had split because of “irreconcilable differences”.

The duo was considered one of the most glamorous power couples in sports. Ivanovic, with her looks and swashbuckling tennis and Schweinsteiger, one of the finest midfielders Germany has produced and winner of the 2014 Fifa World Cup.

Of course, there have been other power couples in sport who have turned heads and sparked conversations and rumours. Remember Australian golfing legend Greg Norman and American tennis great Chris Evert?

American tennis legend Evert and Australian former professional golfer Norman’s love story was controversial from the start. In 2006, both professional athletes left their respective spouses to kindle a romance of their own.

After 18 years of marriage, Evert filed for divorce from skier Andy Mill, with whom she had three children. Before Mill, Evert was married to British tennis player John Lloyd from 1979 until their union dissolved in 1987. Norman — who, ironically, was best friends with Mill — parted ways with his wife of 25 years, Laura Andrassy, with whom he shared two children.

Evert and Norman announced their engagement during a golf tournament in South Africa, where Evert was building a new tennis centre. They tied the knot in the Bahamas in June 2008. Despite seeming happily in love, Evert and Norman’s close friends never expected the relationship to last. In October 2009, People magazine confirmed the sports power couple had separated after 15 months of marriage. Two months after ending their marriage, Evert and Norman finalised their divorce.

If that celebrity golf-tennis marriage managed to last 15 months, another one progressed until the engagement stage before being literally ‘called off’. Five-time Major champion and current world No 2 golfer Northern Ireland’s Rory McIlroy and former tennis world No. 1 and 2018 Australian Open champion Caroline Wozniacki of Denmark dated for three years before announcing their engagement on New Year’s Eve in 2013. But in May 2014, shortly after wedding invitations were sent, McIlroy ended the engagement via a phone call. He released a statement taking responsibility and saying he wasn’t “ready for all that marriage entails”.

The only other high-profile sporting split that can rival the three mentioned above is the one that happened between Indian tennis star Sania Mirza and Pakistani cricketer Shoaib Malik. The cross-border romance blossomed into marriage that lasted for 14 years before the duo officially confirmed their divorce in January 2024. They have a son together.