Now they are set to announce their engagement at Bangkok's Sukhothai Hotel at 10.30am on Tuesday.

A source said the couple had already become engaged and wanted to inform the public about their good news.

A good friend of Glebova told The Nation that the Canadian beauty was not only wearing an engagement ring but also confirming to friends that it was an engagement ring.

Rumours about the engagement have circulated around town since Thursday. However, Thailand's top tennis player denied it at first, saying, "I really have no idea about it. From which source did it come?"

But after having a conversation with his father Chanachai yesterday, Paradorn no longer dismissed the news but remained tight-lipped.

"I won't give an interview to any media until Tuesday. You will hear and see things at the hotel," Paradorn said in a telephone interview with The Nation.

Chanachai said he had no intention of making a public announcement about the engagement because he preferred it to be within the two households. He said Glebova's parents would attend the event and refused to disclose details about any dowry.

The very first time the public saw the two together was last year when she kissed Paradorn as a reward for beating Tim Henman in the quarter-finals of the Thailand Open, which she attended as Singha's brand ambassador.

They later met more often as the tennis player is also a brand ambassador for the brewery. Since then, they have been seen together more frequently.

In February, they admitted they were "special" friends. The Srichaphans have given the beauty queen the Thai name Piangfah and the nickname Fah.

It is expected that the couple will tie the knot by the end of the year in one of the most celebrated weddings of 2007.