American doubles specialist, Evan King, has crowned a highly successful French Open by becoming engaged to his girlfriend, Sydney Gawlik. King has had an excellent season alongside his playing partner, Christian Harrison. The pair won two tournaments in Dallas and Mexico, and reached two other semifinals and one quarterfinal.
In Paris, King and Harrison were the ninth seeds in the French Open men’s doubles, yet managed to progress to the semifinal. They were beaten by Brits Joe Salisbury and Neal Skupski, 7-6, 3-6, 6-7. King did reach a final at Roland Garros, partnering with Taylor Townsend in the mixed doubles and finishing runners-up to Italian pair Sara Errani and Andrea Vavassori.
Evan King celebrated his exploits in France by proposing to girlfriend Sydney Gawlik at Roland Garros. Gawlik is an American filmmaker and photographer who has worked in the music and film industry, including working with bands like Hozier and major brands like Apple and Amazon. The couple announced their engagement on their Instagram accounts. Gawlik captioned the images:
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"Name change incoming!!!"
33-year-old Evan King has been playing on the ATP circuit since 2013. He only ever managed a ranking of 185 in singles, but as a doubles player, he is now ranked No. 18 in the world.
Veteran Evan King is having a career resurgence in his early thirties
King was a standout player and athlete at the University of Michigan from 2010 - 2013. He was a three-time ITA All-American and a two-time Big Ten Athlete of the Year while at the university, and set Michigan's record combined singles and doubles wins with 195.
King's partnership with Harrison has made an enormous difference to King's career. Two ATP tour titles, in Dallas and Delray Beach, within a few weeks of each other in February and March, confirmed the pairing's credentials. During their Paris run, King told the Roland Garros X account that he was grateful for his late success:
“I wouldn’t still be playing if I didn’t believe that I could achieve some of these goals I have set for myself. I’m happy to get a little bit of validation of the things I thought were possible.”
Evan King and Christian Harrison will take their newfound success into the grass court season. Last year, King reached the last sixteen at Wimbledon with then partner Christopher Eubanks, but will be hoping to go further with Harrison at his side.
