It's one of the sweetest romances in professional pickleball. 

After meeting at Michigan State University where they played tennis for the Spartans, Catherine Parenteau and Athena Trouillot have been together for nearly a decade.

In December 2022, the pair announced their engagement on Instagram.

"We always take a trip to celebrate everything that happened over the year and disconnect from pickleball," shared Parenteau. "In 2022, we planned a trip to Vail. I love winter, but Athena hates snow." 

At the final tournament before departing for Colorado, Athena suggested to Catherine that she get her nails done.

“I should have known at that point that something was going on,” said Parenteau with a laugh. 

Something was absolutely going on, but the Canadian star just didn't realize it yet.

That's when Athena popped the question.

"We took the gondola to the top of the mountain, and Athena wanted to go look at the view. We get to this overlook and Athena asked if she could hold my hands, which surprised me," recalled Parenteau. "I looked at her and said, ‘Are you about to propose?’ She had a whole speech. My heart was racing, and I was so shocked. I didn’t expect it at that time and I was just super happy."

Fast forward to August 22, 2024.

That's when Parenteau and Trouillot were married in Los Cabos, Mexico.

"Married life is going well. It feels like I’ve been married for so long because we’ve been dating for almost 10 years. It’s not anything that feels super new, but it’s cool to say that we’re wife and wife," mentioned Parenteau. "We’re trying to see when we can fit a honeymoon into the schedule. We’re hoping for the beginning of next year. We want to go somewhere in Europe."

Trouillot isn’t just Parenteau’s better half, she’s also her pickleball coach.

If Catherine is competing, Athena is there, too, helping her warm up, talking strategy and tactics, and providing support every step of the way.

The coach-player dynamic is rather unique for this tandem, of course.

"The benefit of being her coach is that I know her better than anybody else. During tournaments, it’s a high-stress environment for the athletes, so things become emotional and cloudy. It’s hard, but we try to make sure that before we speak, we wait a second to think about what we’re going to say," explained Trouillot. "We’re learning. We’re trying to figure out how to make it work. She’s been doing pretty well, so we must be doing something right." 

Parenteau couldn't be happier to always have Athena close by. 

"Athena always makes sure that I can just focus on playing pickleball and not worry about anything else," she confided. 

Trouillot is a grounding force for Parenteau on the court.

And when things get hectic or a match doesn’t go well, there’s nothing better than having your significant other right there with you through it all.

“I’m just so lucky to have her,” concluded Parenteau.