Maria Sharapova, engaged.

It was confirmed by Associated Press, with later quotes from the lucky groom-to-be, Sasha Vujacic of the Los Angeles Lakers.

Prior to that, the engagement was also confirmed by Sharapova's agent, Max Eisenbud, who is probably gnashing his teeth at his big money-maker even contemplating settling down in a cushy courtside seat at Lakers games, playing the adoring spouse and forgetting all about her mega-million-dollar tennis career (we're kidding, folks).

According to TMZ, fiancé Vujacic proposed at his home in Manhattan Beach, Calif. on Tuesday. And Sharapova had been spotted with the ring, so obviously she said yes.

TMZ calls it "ginormous" (as is her fiancé, at 6-foot-7). It would have to be. The girl has champagne tastes ;-

"We are engaged and are both really happy," Vujacic said Thursday night. "It's good and now we can focus on other things."

He proposed on the one-year anniversary of the day they met. Awwwwwwwww. "It was probably old school," Vujacic said. "I had to do it like a gentlemen."

Have to say we're pretty shocked at this one, for a few reasons starting with the fact that it's a pretty emotional decision from the typically all-business Sharapova. But he's the first guy she's really been photographed with on a regular basis; if she had any serious relationships before, she hid them pretty well. Maybe she didn't. And she certainly looks pretty happy in most of the pics that have been circulated around.

And, you know, he's really tall, so the 6-foot-2 Sharapova can wear high heels, and not have to do the Tom Cruise-Katie Holmes thing.

But for a career girl, there are issues.

For one, given their respective careers, they haven't spent a whole lot of time together during this brief courtship. In the grand scheme, they barely know each other.


For another, you hope Vujacic isn't too much of a macho guy when it comes to marriage. Somehow we can't see Sharapova sitting alongside gold-digging Laker wives like Vanessa (Kobe) Bryant and Khloe Kardashian (Lamar) Odom comparing bling and Botox procedures. Not to mention wanting kids immediately.

She's just not going to be around that much. She has a job, a pretty time-consuming one.

For another, Sharapova still has a lot of tennis left to play and, after a very challenging season, has a lot of work to do to get back to where she no doubt thinks she should be. This isn't exactly going to be your Justice of the Peace kind of wedding, we don't imagine. Some girls take an entire year off to plan these affairs.


For another, she's only 23. This isn't 1950; who gets married at that age any more? You don't have to. It's okay to live in sin and really get to know the guy you're thinking about spending your life with (she could take a page out of the book of countrywoman Elena Dementieva, who has been dating hockey player Maxim Afinogenov for eons, seems happy, and doesn't seem to have set a date).

Okay, Dr. Phil moment over.

Everything about Sharapova's career so far indicates that she almost always knows exactly what she's doing, and why she's doing it. A very smart cookie, that one.

Congratulations to the happy couple. And here's to a loooooooooong, looooooooong engagement