Ahead of Friday afternoon’s Centre Court schedule, the iconic Wimbledon court played host to a different sort of memory-making as a couple became engaged in the stands.
Gabriele Pamboni stunned his girlfriend of 15 years Annalisa Leoni when he got down on one knee inside the empty venue at 11.30am on Friday morning, just days after the couple celebrated their anniversary.
Accepting with a shocked surprise, London-based Leoni was caught unawares after her now-fiance had told her they were going to spend the day on Henman Hill.
‘We both love Wimbledon and we couldn’t find a better place for it,’ Pamboni shared. ‘Very special day for both of us.
‘She had no idea about the proposal and thought we were going to watch the tennis from the Hill. It was super!’
The historic venue has been the site of a number of proposals over the years, but none have as notorious reknown as the offer pitched at Steffi Graf during her singles’ semi-final against Kimiko Date in 1996.
The heavily decorated German was preparing to serve while battling for her seventh Wimbledon title when a member of the crowd shouted out: ‘Steffi, will you marry me?’
Taking the offer in good humour, Graf responded: ‘How much money do you have?’
Graf’s elegant retort was greeted with laughter and cheers from the crowd – and she went on to claim the title that year.
