Aryna Sabalenka reveals how tennis 'saved' her from depression following the apparent suicide of her ex-boyfriend
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By ISABEL BALDWIN, US ASSISTANT SPORTS EDITOR
Published: | Updated:
Tennis sensation Aryna Sabalenka has opened up on the 'tough' aftermath of the death of her ex-boyfriend.
The world No 1's former partner, former NHL player Konstantin Koltsov, died from apparent suicide aged 42 in March 2024.
Sabalenka, who was no longer in a relationship with the hockey player at the time, was practising nearby ahead of the Miami Open.
Despite the unthinkable tragedy, Sabalenka continued to immerse herself into her on-court grind and competed at the tournament to the dismay of many friends.
While her decision to continue playing was met with reproach on social media, the Belarusian star has now revealed that sport was a coping mechanism for her at the time through her grief.
Sabalenka told Time Magazine that her coach Anton Dubrov had suggested she take some time off from tennis in the wake of the devastation, but she insisted that the sport was her escape.
Aryna Sabalenka has said tennis helped save her from depression after the death of her ex
The tennis sensation appears on the cover of Time Magazine's September edition
Former NHL player and Sabalenka's fellow Belarusian Konstantin Koltsov died in March 2024
'Tennis really saved me from depression,' she told the outlet in an interview for their September cover issue.
'I was just trying to focus on training, just so I spend less time with myself in my thoughts. I would cry in practice a lot. It was a very tough moment in my life.'
Koltsov died after falling from a balcony on the 23rd floor of a Miami five-star hotel in an apparent suicide.
Police officers approached Sabalenka on the courts during a practice session ahead of the Miami tournament to inform her of Koltsov's death.
She previously shared to Vogue that she was 'fighting' with the cops, unable to come to terms with the heartbreaking loss.
Days after Koltsov's death, Sabalenka took down close friend Paula Badosa in the tournament, before exiting against Ukrainian Anhelina Kalinina in the Round of 32.
'I feel like in this situation, there is no right and wrong,' she told Vogue in May, claiming there is no 'cliche' on how to grieve. 'We all need different things. 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 has since become engaged to fiance Georgios Frangulis, who popped the question in March this year.
Koltsov died aged 42 after falling from a hotel balcony on the 23rd floor in Miami
The world No 1 is now engaged to Brazilian entrepreneur Georgios Frangulis (pictured)
'He was really supportive and really helpful for the team,' her coach Dubrov told Time of the Brazilian entrepreneur. 'He was always asking us, "What do you think, guys? Should I be at practice? Should I be at the matches?" Sometimes relationships can be not helpful. But he was asking, "What do you think would be the best for her?"'
Sabalenka suffered another personal tragedy in 2019 when she lost her father suddenly to meningitis, at the age of just 43.
Her father was the first to introduce her to the sport after driving her past some empty tennis courts when she was just six years old. Interest piqued and he began to teach her, handing down his own athletic ambition after a car accident when he was 19 shattered his career as a professional hockey star.
Sabalenka was scarcely older when she suffered the shock tragedy in November 2019, forced to digest her bereavement during her sport's offseason.
If you or someone you know needs help, please call or text the confidential 24/7 Suicide & Crisis Lifeline in the US on 988. There is also an online chat available at 988lifeline.org.
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