COURTING COUPLE
British tennis darling Heather Watson dating Scottish football cult hero, 27, as she gushes over ‘my wee Scotsman’
They've both won major trophies on home soil
MOVE over Andy Murray and Kim Sears - there's a new cross-border celeb couple coming to Wimbledon.
And not only featuring a British winner at SW19 - but a Scottish football cult hero too.
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Heather Watson became a household name when she emerged on the tennis tour as a teenager.
She starred at the 2012 Olympics in London and went all the way at Wimbledon four years later and WON the mixed doubles event.
With partner on-court Joe Salisbury she still has interest in this year's tournament too, but saw her tilt at the women's doubles title fall at the first hurdle on Thursday - just like Murray's did in the mens' pairs alongside brother Jamie.
But, as what felt like the entire nation north of the border was cheering on the Dunblane duo on Centre Court - there was certainly a small pocket in Paisley making noise for 32-year-old Watson.
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That's where Watson's boyfriend plays his football these days.
She lovingly dubs him 'my wee Scotsman' despite the Hampden hero standing 6'3" - some eight inches above her.
And he's no stranger to domestic glory either - he scored goals in both the League Cup and Scottish Cup Finals in 2021, bizarrely finding the net in EXACTLY the same minute of each game to hand St Johnstone an astonishing cup double.
If you haven't worked it out yet - Heather Watson's other half is none other than Shaun Rooney.
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The defender signed for St Mirren in May after leaving Fleetwood Town where he'd been a mainstay for Scottish bosses Scott Brown and Charlie Adam.
But it was second time lucky for Saints who he'd snubbed for the move to England where he later met Watson.
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The couple have been pictured at the All England Club during their romance and on nights out with Watson tagging one image with the Glasgow-born ace 'my wee Scotsman' with a green loveheart emoji.
Celtic-daft Rooney is a Saints cult hero for his Hampden exploits but also appeared on stage for the Hoops' tribute night to ex-boss Brown and Mikael Lustig last year despite never pulling on the green and white shirt in his career.
He's not the first footballer Watson has dated - she was previously linked to Yeovil Town and Morecambe football player Courtney Duffus until 2022.
In a pro career spanning 15 years she's amassed a net worth estimated to be around $5 million, with about $3.9 million attributed to her prize money on court.
Rooney is currently in the thick of pre-season in Paisley with Stephen Robinson's Buddies, but Watson is next expected on court this weekend for her second round mixed doubles match against Nadiia Kichenok and Sander Gille.
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Wimbledon 2024 prize money
PRIZE MONEY for the 2024 Wimbledon Championships is a new record - and puts the grass-court Slam at the top of the tree.
The All England Club will dish out £50million across all the events - an increase of £5.3m and 11.9 per cent on last year, where singles champions Carlos Alcaraz and Marketa Vondrousova picked up £2.35m each.
However, the king and queen of grass this July will collect an extra £350,000 - taking the winner's earnings to £2.7m.
Here is the breakdown for the 2024 Wimbledon singles prize money:
- Winner: £2.7m
- Runner-up: £1.4m
- Semi-finalists: £715,000
- Quarter-finalists: £375,000
- Fourth round: £226,000
- Third round: £143,000
- Second round: £93,000
- First round: £60,000
- Overall total: £50m
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