Aryna Sabalenka wears 12-carat engagement ring for opening-round Indian Wells win

Aryna Sabalenka wore an extra-special accessory to kick off her 2026 BNP Paribas Open, donning her 12-carat diamond engagement ring to beat Himeno Sakatsume, 6-4, 6-2.

“It’s very comfortable,” the world No. 1 said of the ring in her post-match press conference. “We double-checked if there is a possibility to lose the diamond, and there is none, so I was pretty confident wearing this ring, and it feels comfy, feels shiny.

“I hope that my opponent will get distracted with this diamond and it's going to benefit me,” she added with a laugh.

Sabalenka announced her engagement to longtime boyfriend Georgios Frangulis in the lead-up to her first match since the Australian Open, sharing the glamorous ring on social media and around the Indian Wells Tennis Garden.

Designed by Isabela Grutman—wife of Sabalenka’s good friend and entrepreneur David Grutman—the oval-cut stone was set in platinum with a curved band and accenting emeralds.

“We spent months working on the design, selecting the stones, and perfecting every detail of the craftsmanship to make it truly special for Aryna,” Grutman told *Page Six Style*. What made it even more meaningful was Georgios’ idea to incorporate emeralds into the design, as it’s her favorite stone—a personal touch that makes the ring uniquely hers.”

Though Sabalenka has publicly nudged Frangulis to pop the question for the last six months, the reigning US Open champion confessed her shock once the moment arrived, getting neither warning nor glam ahead of time.

“I was crying half of the time, because I thought that I looked ugly, not prepared, and this is such a beautiful moment,” she said on Friday. “I stopped everything, and I asked the videographer and the photographer to make sure that my face is not there, just the ring, and, I don't know, side views and from the back, just so you guys wouldn't be shocked by the way I looked.

“In the end, it looked better,” she clarified later on. “It looked real, it looked like it was a real surprise. Honestly, I'm super happy with the way they all did it to me.”

Sabalenka came within one match of the Sunshine Double in 2025, reaching the BNP Paribas Open final and winning the Miami Open. In a stacked section of the draw that features Iva Jovic, Naomi Osaka, Victoria Mboko, Emma Raducanu, and Amanda Anisimova, the top seed will look to sparkle throughout the Sunshine Swing with Jaqueline Cristian standing between her and the fourth round.