Emotional Aryna Sabalenka Wishes She Could Spend More Time With Late Father
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Aryna Sabalenka is one of the best tennis players in the world and among the most joyful personalities in the sport. However, she regrets not getting to spend more time with her late father, Sergey.
Sabalenka is known to be very close with the team she travels with throughout the year. This includes her coach, Anton Dubrov, who began that position during the 2020 season.
The three-time Grand Slam champion has jokingly criticized her team after final losses. For example, she thanked them for helping her lose another final after finishing as the runner-up to Iga Swiatek at the Italian Open.
However, in reality, Sabalenka, Dubrov, and other team members are very close. The world No. 1 credits Dubrov with helping her to add more variety to the power that has existed since she emerged on the WTA Tour.
Interestingly, Dubrov was not Sabalenka's first choice for coach. Former world No. 1 Dinara Safina revealed that the defending Australian Open champion tried to hire her as coach shortly before the 2019 US Open, but she could not commit to starting that quickly.
Sabalenka's success means that not hiring Safina was probably a blessing in disguise. Because of the tragedy she has faced, having a team that feels like a family is perhaps particularly important for her.
A recent example was Sabalenka's ex-boyfriend Konstantin Koltsov being found dead after an apparent suicide during March's Miami Open. Although they were no longer together, it was still a devastating moment.
Sabalenka recently spoke about managing her grief without a psychologist despite her team hiring one. The US Open winner swiftly realized that handling the situation alone would be more beneficial.
That was not the first time Sabalenka lost someone close to her at a young age. The tennis star's father was only 43 when he passed away from meningitis. She was in her early twenties when she experienced that heartbreaking loss.
Sabalenka has a younger sister who also went through that devastating moment. In an interview with Harper's Bazaar Magazine, she opened up about not spending as much time as she wanted with her late father or wants to with her younger sister.
"It’s kind of a sad story, but right now I wish I could spend a little more time with my dad, and more time with my sister. Time flies and you never know what’s gonna happen tomorrow."
"It’s really important to be close to your family, and to spend more time with your family, because life is crazy, and you have to appreciate what you have."
Sabalenka, known for being one of the happiest and most cheerful personalities on the WTA Tour, thinks she gained those traits from her father. The recent Brisbane International champion wishes he was still alive so they could have fun together.
"I mean, I think my personality came from my father. I wish he would be still alive. I think we would have so much fun together right now."
It is understandable how much Sabalenka misses her father, but she has certainly made him incredibly proud by enjoying an outstanding career that is far from over.
