Congrats are in order for Venus Williams who shared that she is engaged to her partner Andrea Preti.

The tennis star confirmed the news after defeating Peyton Stearns at the DC Open on July 22. The on-court reporter phrased a question about being engaged as a statement blended with a couple of other questions, saying to Williams: “You’re now an engaged woman. So, how much has Andrea helped you in this comeback? You’re happy, the smile on your face. I mean, how much has he made a difference in your life?”

“Yes, my fiancé is here,” Williams responded before adding, “He really encouraged me to keep playing. There were so many times where I just wanted to coast and kind of chill. Do you know how hard it is to play tennis? You guys don’t know how much work goes into this, like it’s nine-to-five except you’re running the whole time. Lifting weights and just like dying, and then you repeat it the next day. So he encouraged me to get through this and it’s wonderful to be here. He’s never seen me play.”

Here’s what we know about the athlete‘s fiancé.

When Williams and Preti started dating

Williams and Preti have been romantically linked since July 2024 when they were spotted together in Nerano, Italy, along the Amalfi Coast.

In February 2025, they sparked engagement rumors when the seven-time Grand Slam singles winner was seen in Rome wearing a ring on that finger.

The chatter continued when the couple attended the Dsquared2 Fall/Winter 2025 fashion show during Milan Fashion Week as Williams was photographed rocking a square-cut diamond in the middle of a pavé-set on her left hand. Several fans pointed out that the ring seen then looked different from the one she had previously worn leaving questions about whether they were engaged.

Preti is in the entertainment business

Preti was born on July 28, 1988, in Denmark but later moved to Italy.

Like Williams, Preti is passionate about fashion and he worked as a runway model for a time. He later got into film and acting after studying at the Susan Batson Academy in New York.

Preti appeared in a few commercials and had minor TV roles. In 2014, he gained recognition in the industry for the movie One More Day, which he wrote, directed, and starred in. He also had roles in My Beloved Enemy and A Professor. He gained more exposure among Italian audiences in 2016, when he was cast in the reality show L’Isola dei Famosi (Italy’s version of Survivor).

Before Williams, Preti was in a relationship Italian TV host Claudia Gerini. After they split, Preti remained a familiar name in European tabloids due to their previous connection.

As for Williams, she previously dated golfer Hank Kuehne from 2007 to 2010. In 2012, she moved on with Cuban model Elio Pis. After they split, Williams was in a relationship with financier Nicholas Hammond from 2017 to 2019.