Aryna Sabalenka struggling as she copes with heartbreaking tragedy | Tennis | Sport

Aryna Sabalenka has opened up about two of the most painful chapters of her life. Sabalenka has said she was unable to accept the news of the death of ex-boyfriend Konstantin Koltsov following his apparent suicide in 2024.

That came just five years after her father died suddenly of meningitis. Sabalenka was on the practice courts at the Miami Open when police approached her with the news that Koltsov had passed away.

Sabalenka, who made her romance with the former pro hockey player public in June 2021, returned to competition days later. But she faced criticism online over her decision, and after losing in the third round to Anhelina Kalinina, smashed her racket and cancelled her press conference.

And now opening up on the moment she was informed of Koltsov’s death, she told Vogue: “I was fighting with the cop… like, I couldn’t accept it.”

Before she continued: “I don’t know if there’s any cliché about how you’re supposed to grieve. I feel like in this situation, there is no right and wrong. We all need different things. For me, going back to work is the only way.

“For me, going back to work is the only way. I’m 28, but sometimes I think I’ve had everything in life that you could imagine.”

Sabalenka, who has won four Grand Slam singles titles, was 21 when her father died suddenly of meningitis, and she admits that even now she struggles to cope with the loss because she knows how much fun her father would be having watching her in action.

“People say that time helps, but in some ways I struggle more now because I know how much fun my dad would be having with my success,” she said.

“Nowadays my fiancé will find me crying in bed in the evening because I’m watching reels and there’s something about a father, or old times.

“The most sensitive videos for me are when I see people posting a family reaction to their kid athlete winning something, and I just imagine how my dad would react to me.

“I’m crying like crazy, like I just lost him. There are so many fathers on tour, and when I see a healthy relationship and a proud dad, I think, girl, just enjoy it, because you never know what’s coming. You’re so lucky.”