The Definitive Power Ranking of Athlete Couples
Sue Bird came out as gay and announced that she's dating Megan Rapinoe in a wide-ranging interview with ESPNw. That's great for two reasons: One, the fact that Bird felt comfortable enough to come out publicly is awesome, and two, Bird and Rapinoe immediately became one of sports' highest powered athlete-couples. But the real question is not whether they're a power couple—they are—but where they rank among all-athlete couples.
Here's a completely subjective power ranking of athlete couples, the order of which was determined by the following criteria: Couples are ranked by their combined peak athletic prowess (this way, being past one's prime or retired doesn't hurt), and each couple must still be together.
1. Andre Agassi and Steffi Graf
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Tennis' first couple, Agassi and Graf top the list of athlete power couples. Agassi won 8 majors in his career, was the first man to win majors on three different surfaces and remains the only man to have won all four majors, an Olympic gold medal and the ATP Tour World Championships. Not to be outdone, Graf won 22 majors during her illustrious career as well as her own Olympic gold. The two were married in 2001 and have two children together: Jaden and Jaz.
2. Nomar Garciaparra and Mia Hamm
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Garciaparra shot to stardom as a power-hitting shortstop with the Boston Red Sox. After winning Rookie of the Year in 1997, Garciaparra finished in the top 10 in MVP voting in each of the next three seasons. When all was said and done, Garciaparra finished his career as a .313 hitter, hit 229 home runs and made six All-Star teams—not too shabby, but Hamm's resume blows his out of the water. Arguably the most famous woman soccer player of all time, Hamm was named FIFA World Player of the Year in 2001 and 2002. She scored 158 goals for the USWNT, with which she won two World Cups and two Olympic golds. The two married in 2003.
3. Sue Bird and Megan Rapinoe
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Bird and Rapinoe began dating in the Fall of 2016, but the relationship didn't go public until Bird came out as gay in an ESPNw piece in July 2017. Bird is a four-time Olympic gold medalist, 10-time WNBA All-Star and will likely finish as the league's all-time leader in assists. A mainstay on the U.S. women's national soccer team, Rapinoe has won the World Cup (2015) an Olympic gold (2012).
4. Bastian Schweinsteiger and Ana Ivanovic
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Schweinsteiger has won virtually everything there is to win in world soccer. Over his exactly 500 appearances for Bayern Munich, the central midfielder won eight Bundesliga titles and a Champions League crown. Schweinsteiger won 121 caps for the German national team and was an instrumental part of the side that took home the 2014 World Cup. Ivanovic became the top-ranked female tennis player in the world shortly after winning the 2008 French Open. The two were married in July 2016.
5. Jrue Holiday and Lauren (Cheney) Holiday
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This couple met when both were students at UCLA but didn't start dating until after Jrue was drafted by the Philadelphia 76'ers. Jrue made the All-Star team in 2013 and signed a max contract extension in the summer of 2017. Cheney has won two Olympic golds and one World Cup with the USWNT, and holds the distinction as the only woman in NWSL history to ever have her jersey retired. The couple married in 2013.
6. David Lee and Caroline Wozniacki
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While Lee is a currently a nothing-special role player for the Spurs, he made back-to-back All-Star teams in 2009 and 2010 when he was a New York Knick. And while he started just 4 games during the Warriors' championship season, the ring on his finger is the same size as Steph Curry's; he's an NBA champion for life. Wozniacki, who had a high-profile split with then-fiancee Rory McIroy, reached No. 1 in the women's tennis rankings in 2010 but has yet to win a major.
7. J.J. Watt and Kealia Ohalia
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Before injuries ravaged his 2016 season, Watt was the consensus best defensive player in the NFL. A three-time Defensive Player of the Year, Watt has had two 20-plus sack seasons and finished second in MVP voting in 2014. Ohai is the captain of the NWSL's Houston Dash and scored just 48 seconds into her USWNT debut in 2016- the fastest debut goal in the team's history.
8. Servando Carrasco and Alex Morgan
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Carrasco and Morgan met when both were soccer players at the University of California. Carrasco has been a solid defensive midfielder for four different MLS teams, but the reason this couple makes the list is because of Morgan's accomplishments with the USWNT. Morgan scored 28 goals and had 21 assists in 2012, the year the USWNT won the Olympic gold. She also was in the starting XI of the USWNT team that won the 2015 FIFA World Cup. The couple was married in 2014.
