McIlroy and Wozniacki ring in the New Year

Rory McIlroy and Caroline Wozniacki, one of the top power couples in sports, announced their engagement on Twitter on Wednesday. A spokesman for McIlroy confirmed she accepted his proposal in Sydney, where Wozniacki is preparing for the Australian Open.

The golfer tweeted: “Happy New Year everyone! I have a feeling it’s going to be a great year!! My first victory of 2014.” He added a hash tag: “She said yes!!”

Wozniacki, 23, sent out a tweet a few minutes earlier that said: “Happy New Year everyone! Rory and I started 2014 with a bang! … I said YES!!!!”

They included a collage of three photos – her engagement ring, a photo of them together and fireworks over the Sydney Harbour.

Back in February, The National's Steve Elling may have heard the wedding bells. He wrote this piece about "Wozilroy" and how their time together had resulted in the fastest changeover imaginable, a swapping of both position and reputation for the athletes.

They first began to see each other in the summer of 2011, shortly after McIlroy won his first major with a record-setting performance in the US Open at Congressional. At the time, Wozniacki was ranked No 1 in the world and McIlroy No 2.

That changed within six months, when the Northern Irishman first ascended to No 1 in the world and the Dane began a steady decline; she now is No 10 in the WTA rankings. McIlroy begins 2014 at No 6 after a difficult season that included a split from his management group and reports of romantic trouble.

“I don’t care what people say about my golf,” McIlroy said. “It’s when people start digging into my personal life, that’s where annoys you – whether it’s Caroline, it’s management, all that stuff shouldn’t be a consequence to how I play my golf.”

McIlroy makes his debut at the Abu Dhabi HSBC Golf Championship, January 16 to 19.

Some other notable pairing partners

The global landscape is dotted with romances between celebrity sports figures and, as with the rest of the population, we can find both successes and failures. Tennis heroes Steffi Graf and Andre Agassi have been married for 11 years and have two children. The former baseball player Ray Knight and the golf star Nancy Lopez were married for 27 years. The marriage of the gymnastics standouts Bart Conner and Nadia Comaneci, like some of her scores from the 1976 Olympics, seems like a perfect 10.

However, relationships between male golfers and female tennis players seem not to have enjoyed the same success. In fact, for several women who once ranked at the top of the sport, dating a golfer has not served as a springboard to more success. Usually, it’s been the contrary.

Former No 1 Martina Hingis and Sergio Garcia The Swiss Miss was last ranked No 1 in mid-October of 2001 and she began dating the Spanish golfer in the spring of 2002. Thereafter, she never again climbed back to the top of the ranking mountain. She played in her last grand slam final in January 2002. She won three slam titles in 1997.

Former No 1 Ana Ivanovic and Adam Scott This one did not turn out well for either,over the short term. The Australian golfer went into a deep slump and the Serb lost her No 1 ranking, though both have since climbed back into the top 15 in their respective professions. Ivanovic was twice ranked No 1 in 2008, shortly before she and Scott began dating, in early 2009.

Former No 1 Chris Evert and Greg Norman This was a clear double fault. Close friends for years and well into their 50s when they finally wed in a lavish US$2 million (Dh7.35m) ceremony in the Bahamas in 2008, the marriage lasted only 18 months and damaged the reputations of each partner. The American had previously been married to the tennis player John Lloyd and the skier Andy Mill (with whom she had three children) and earlier was engaged to Jimmy Connors.

Former No 1 Caroline Wozniacki and Rory McIlroy In the 18 months before Wozniacki began dating the Northern Irishman, she won 12 times. In the 19 months since, the Dane lost her No 1 ranking, fell out of the top 10 and has only three victories. McIlroy, meanwhile, rocketed to No 1 last year, winning five times worldwide and claiming the top-player honours on both major tours.