Just like Victoria Beckham and Rebecca Judd before her, Costeen Hatzi is embracing life as the other half of a professional sportsman. And also just like those household names, the 24-year-old WAG is determined to forge her own identity.
For now, Hatzi is probably better known as the glamorous girlfriend of Australian tennis star Nick Kyrgios. The pair have been dating since the end of 2021.
“I think it’s super important as a woman and as a girlfriend to have your own thing going on,” she says, while chatting to WHO about her collaboration with Ralph Lauren, specifically the designer’s new men’s fragrance, Polo 67.
“It’s really easy to get lost and caught up in your partner’s life, especially if they’re a global athlete. It’s important for me to have my own life and my own goals, too.”
For Hatzi, that includes her dress hire business, Style Studio Dress Hire, brand collaborations and modelling.
Before meeting Kyrgios, she had hardly even watched a game of tennis. When she speaks to WHO, she is with him in New York, where he is commentating on the US Open. She enjoys the travel – one of the perks of being an elite athlete’s plus one.
“It really is amazing because I get to experience all these different countries and cities and cultures. It’s pretty cool,” she admits.
Kyrgios, whose on-court antics have seen him become a polarising figure and earn the reputation as tennis’ ‘bad boy’, is in the midst of his triumphant return to the court, after two long years sitting on the sidelines.
“He’s been dealing with injury. He’s to undergo a few surgeries but he’s getting back into the swing of things,” Hatzi tells WHO, confirming that just weeks ago, he competed in his first tournament in two years – and won. “Hopefully we’ll see him next year at [the Australian Open]!”
Away from the international tennis circuit, life is also good for the couple.
“It’s coming up to three years at the end of this year, which is crazy because it feels like I’ve just met him, but also like I’ve known him my whole life.”
Does that mean a proposal is imminent?
“I mean, I’m still pretty young. I’m only 24,” Hatzi says with a laugh. “He’s 30 next year, so he’s a little bit older – but there’s no rush. Still, if he did propose, I wouldn’t say no.”
Kyrgios’ fierce passion for his sport and his confidence in telling it like it is are just some of the reasons she loves the sportsman, who once ranked as high as number 13 in the world.
“He’s just himself and he won’t shy away from being himself. I think a lot of athletes, they don’t really show a lot of personality on the court, but he’s not afraid to be himself. He says what he wants!” There’s no doubt Kyrgios is a showman – but that doesn’t mean it’s all for show. “He’s the exact same person off the court as well,” Hatzi says. “He’s not putting it on.”
Despite their high-profile careers, Hatzi says the couple are just like any ordinary Australian duo. They live a fairly low-key life and miss their creature comforts when they’re travelling abroad for work, which is where the Kyrgios family matriarch, Norlaila, steps in, sharing her recipes with Hatzi for her to replicate on the road.
