Aryna Sabalenka recently spoke of the tragedy that afflicted her earlier this season when her ex-boyfriend passed away.
Sabalenka's former partner, Konstantin Koltsov, died in March from what has been reported as an apparent suicide. It was believed that the two were still in a relationship then, but the two-time Australian Open champion quickly clarified that was not the case.
Still, the emotional distress that faced Sabalenka became even more noticeable while competing at the 2024 Miami Open. She requested complete privacy, and it's fair to say she was accorded that. The WTA star never talked about what she called "unthinkable tragedy" until recently.
One thing that Sabalenka has always leaned on after losing a loved one has been tennis. It gave her a purpose and, most importantly, a breakaway routine to distract her.
After her father's (Sergey) heartbreaking passing at 43 in 2019, she rejoined the Tour almost immediately the following season in pursuit of fulfilling his wishes.
And now, almost five months after Konstantin's death, Sabalenka has found the clarity to talk about her ex-partner in an interview with the Guardian. She explained how her body took a beating from playing too much tennis to escape the grief.
"Once, I lost my father and tennis helped me to go through that tough loss. So at that moment [of Koltsov’s death] I thought I had to just keep going, keep playing, keep doing my thing to separate my personal life from my career life."
"But at the end I would say I was struggling a lot healthwise because I didn’t stop. It was really emotional and really stressful, and kind of damaged my mental health at that point."
Sabalenka says she was "made to pay" for sticking around the Tour between March and July as she battled illness and a shoulder injury. Looking back, the wisest decision would have been to step aside to rejuvenate.
"Probably, looking back right now, I would say that a better decision would have been to step back, reset and recharge, and start everything over again. But I did what I did."
"At the end I paid for my decision, but I’m really glad that I have tennis in my life and it’s really helped me go through whatever and get stronger."
The shoulder injury she sustained in Berlin during the grass-court swing proved to be a blessing in disguise. The Belarusian withdrew from Wimbledon. Only then did she learn how much her body needed ample rest time, both physically and mentally.
"Yeah, definitely. I realised it only after I was injured and had to step back that actually it was something much needed. It was really sad and I was struggling a lot not to play Wimbledon, of course, but at the same time I was able to take all the benefits from the time."
"I was doing a lot of rehab and treatment, but I was able to enjoy my life and my time away from tennis, and take all the good sides of not competing on tour. At the end I figured out that it was much needed. Now I feel physically and mentally much better and much stronger."
The short break allowed Sabalenka to reunite with her current boyfriend, Georgios Frangulis, the owner of the Oakberry acai brand. They went on vacation together, and upon her return to action, she won the Cincinnati Open and is now the outright favorite to win the US Open.
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