This is how Maria Sharapova responded when a fan proposed to her during match; watch video

Maria Sharapova received a mid-match marriage proposal during a match. (Source: Twitter/Screengrab)

In spite of being surrounded by controversies in recent years, 5-time Grand Slam winning tennis star Maria Sharapova enjoys a huge fan following all over the world. Signs of her superstardom were seen when the Russian took on 161st ranked Turkish player Cagla Buyukakcay at an exhibition match in Istanbul last weekend. Sharapova was left surprised during the match as she received a marriage proposal by a fan from the stands.

Trailing by 3-2 in the first set, Sharapova got ready to serve the ball, when a fan screamed, “Maria, will you marry me?” The tennis star took a pause as the crowd started jeering. Inciting further laughs and applause from the crowd at the Sinan Erdem Hall, Sharapova pondered over the proposal and responded with a “maybe”. The Russian later went on to beat her opponent by 6-7, 0-6 in the match.

Türk seyirciden Maria Sharapova’ya evlenme teklifi! http://t.co/RFRitJhkb6 pic.twitter.com/SK8YR1de69

— Hurriyet.com.tr (@Hurriyet) 27 November 2017

Sharapova, who came back to competitive tennis in April 2016, after a 15-month ban doping ban, won her first WTA title since her return in October at the Tianjin Open. But troubles for her are far from over as she found herself under Indian police scanner for her role in a cheating and criminal conspiracy case involving real estate firm Homestead Infrastructure. The 30-year old endorsed a luxury housing project titled “Ballet by Maria Sharapova”, that never took off, and the company is accused of raking tens of millions of rupees from home buyers from the project.