They’re the perfect match.
The couple who got engaged at the US Open last Friday are New Jersey tennis pros who told The Post the Queens tournament has special meaning for them.
Brett Kraft scored extra points for getting down on one knee at Louis Armstrong Stadium, since it’s where he had his first date with his bride-to-be Sophia Fredriksson.
“It’s always been my plan . . . given our tennis background, given the history of our relationship,” said Kraft, 39, who met Fredriksson, 27, at Orange Lawn Tennis Club in South Orange, NJ.
“I remember we’re sitting there and he’s like, ‘You know if we end up on the jumbotron I’m going to kiss you,’” Fredriksson recalled of their first date in 2021.
Every summer since, they’ve sat in the same seats.
Their third year there, in 2023, they finally got on the jumbotron.
“When I kissed her, the whole crowd went wild . . . I thought, ‘If we’re going to get married, this is going to be where I propose,’” said Kraft, a native of New Providence, NJ.
Kraft detailed the stressful hours leading up to the proposal.
The couple attended with Fredriksson’s brother Marcus and his girlfriend Hanna, and once they were in their seats, Kraft excused himself in order to find a cameraman who worked at the Open to tell them his plan.
“The cameraman was so excited that he flagged down a supervisor, who was texting and coordinating with ESPN. They couldn’t give me an exact time, but they said, ‘Be ready in between sets,’” he recalled.
Ironically, at the same time Kraft was planning the moment, his girlfriend was expressing her frustration to Marcus and Hanna about the fact he hadn’t proposed at the tourney.
“I’ve always said to my family, ‘The US Open would be such a full circle moment,’ and I’m telling them, ‘I’m a little pissed,’” Fredriksson, a native of Sweden, recalled.
The first set of the match, between Aryna Sabalenka and Leylah Fernandez, came to an end, but then Fredriksson needed to use the bathroom. Once they returned, another couple was sitting in their seats, so the jumbotron first captured Marcus instead.
Kraft said it ended up working out because while she was distracted by seeing her brother on screen, he got down on one knee.
He then turned to the crowd and waved his hand, asking them to cheer him on.
“I wished he’d just asked the question sooner because all I wanted to say was, ‘Yes,’” gushed Fredriksson.
“I was laughing and crying at the same time and then I see his eyes are completely teared up.”
The couple said the crowd in the 14,000-seat stadium disappeared in that moment.
“All I could see is him in front of me,” Fredriksson said.
The pair was overwhelmed by the outpouring of love from the crowd.
“We must have been approached by over 100 people, congratulating us, sharing pictures and video,” Kraft said.
Sabalenka, who ended up winning the match, also sent her wishes for a “happy marriage” during a press conference.
Right after the proposal, TV commentators on the official US Open channel joked, “Honey Deuce for everyone . . . on this guys’ credit card,” referring to the Open’s $23 signature cocktail.
“I heard that,” Kraft said, “And I was like, ‘I don’t think so.’”
[Notigroup Newsroom in collaboration with other media outlets, with information from the following sources]
