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Months after the tragic death of her ex-boyfriend, Aryna Sabalenka has finally opened up about the profound impact it had on her and how she struggled to cope. The World No.2 in women's tennis shared her feelings about the event and her approach to dealing with the aftermath.
Konstantin Koltsov, a former NHL player, ed away in March after falling from a balcony at a high-end hotel in Miami.
While initial reports suggested that Sabalenka and Koltsov were still in a relationship, she later clarified that they were no longer together at the time of his death. Despite this, the loss deeply affected her, leaving her heartbroken.
Following the incident, Sabalenka kept her public comments to a minimum, only expressing her gratitude to fans for their during such a challenging time.
Now, reflecting on the months that have ed, Sabalenka itted that if she could go back, she might have approached things differently. Rather than taking the time to grieve properly, she, much like after the loss of her father in 2019, immediately threw herself back into her tennis career.
"Once, I lost my father and tennis helped me to go through that tough loss," she told The Guardian. "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.
"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.
"I realized it only after I was injured and had to step back that actually it was something much needed.
"At the end I figured out that it was much needed. Now I feel physically and mentally much better and much stronger."
Struggling with injuries
Just a day after Koltsov's death, Sabalenka was already back on the court, practicing for the Miami Open. This intense focus on her career, while helping her stay on track professionally, has also come with its own set of challenges.
In the past few months, the 26-year-old has been forced to step away from the game due to a shoulder injury, which caused her to miss Wimbledon, and health issues that prevented her participation in the French Open and Italian Open.