Aryna Sabalenka started the 2024 Miami Open campaign with a difficult win over good friend Paula Badosa.
The victory wasn't difficult because of what would happen on the tennis court, but because of everything that happened before. Only a couple of days prior to the start of the WTA 1000 tournament in Miami, Sabalenka's boyfriend, Konstantin Koltsov, passed away.
As the Belarusian later revealed, the two were no longer together at the time of the passing, but that, of course, didn't make the situation any less difficult for her.
She still made the decision to play at the tournament, but asked not to have to talk to the press, which of course, was accepted by everyone involved.
In her first match at the event, she couldn't face a better opponent than her friend Badosa, who has been a strong support for her throughout the period.
Both players walked onto the court in a black dress, honouring Koltsov's memory. It was a nice touch for both players in a match, that was emotional in a much different way than the majority of tennis matches.
Despite everything that happened in her personal life, Sabalenka was the better player on the tennis court, never allowing Badosa to have a single break point in the opening set of the match.
On the other hand, the world no. 2 had five chances to break, and while she used only one, it was enough to still win the first set 6-4 and establish an early lead in the match.
In the second set, the Belarusian started with a break, and despite facing a break point in the eighth game, Sabalenka won the following six points, and she was able to finish off the match with another break, winning 6-4, 6-3.
Leaving the court without talking to the media as expected, Sabalenka will now focus on her third-round match against the 32nd-seeded Anhelina Kalinina from Ukraine.
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