Daria Kasatkina proposed to Natalia Zabiiako with an assist from Daria Saville

The vast majority of wedding proposals require coordination, secrecy and planning. But, as Daria Kasatkina told the story of how she recently popped the big question to longtime girlfriend Natalia Zabiiako ... sometimes, the heart wants what it wants.

While the couple revealed their engagement just over a week ago on the day of the penultimate day of Roland Garros, it turned out that asked not in Paris, but weeks prior in Rome.

As Kasatkina explained this week at the HSBC Championships, she, Zabiiako and their crew were out celebrating her own 28th birthday when the moment happened. But the diamond solitaire that sparkled on Zabiiako's finger in the social media post that made their big news public wasn't burning a hole in Kasatkina's pocket at the time.

In fact, Kasatkina popped the question with a ring that wasn't even hers to begin with.

"Feeling good" at the table as the group was engrossed in conversation, Kasatkina said she was overcome with a hunch that it was the right time to pop the question. She grabbed a metal ring, a gift for her birthday from good friend Daria Saville, and bucked up the courage to just do it.

"I just went on my knee," she said. "There were bags [everywhere] with the presents ... and everyone thought it was a joke.

"Natasha, she's like, 'Are you joking? Are you serious?' and I was like, 'Completely serious ... are you going to marry me?'"

The post-proposal scene was full of tears and congratulations in equal measure, and a few days later after Kasatkina lost in Rome, the couple went shopping for the ring fans will now recognize.

Joking that "there's no way back" now, Kasatkina added that while the proposal might've been spur-of-the-moment, she and Zabiiako already a semblance of a vision for their nuptials.

"Next to the sea with our closest people," Kasatkina said. "It's going to not be a big wedding; it's going to be quite small, but for sure we're going to have a great time with our closest people, friends, family. I'm really waiting for this moment because it's going to be a very nice party."