Aryna Sabalenka has spoken about the mental crisis she suffered after the tragic death of her ex-boyfriend.
Former NHL player and fellow Belarusian Konstantin Koltsov has died at the age of 42 after falling from a balcony on the 23rd floor of a five-star hotel in Miami.
At the time, it was widely reported that Kolstov was still in a relationship with the world number two. However, Sabalenka later clarified that “even though we were no longer together, my heart is broken.”
Despite the “unthinkable tragedy,” Sabalenka continued to indulge in her routine on court, just as she did after the death of her father, Sergey, in 2019.
The day after Kolstov’s death, Sabalenka was seen practicing ahead of the Miami Open, where she defeated close friend Paula Badosa days later before being eliminated by Ukrainian Anhelina Kalinina in the round of 32.
Tennis star Aryna Sabalenka has opened up about the tragic death of her ex-boyfriend
Former NHL player and fellow Belarusian of Sabalenka, Konstantin Koltsov, died this year
However, five months later, the tennis star admitted she should have handled the tragic loss differently.
“I once lost my father and tennis helped me overcome that tough loss,” he said in a recent interview with The Guardian.
‘So at that moment (of Koltsov’s death) I thought I had to move on, keep playing, keep doing my thing to separate my personal life from my professional life.
“But in the end I would say I had a lot of health problems because I didn’t stop. It was very emotional and stressful, and at the time it damaged my mental health.
“Probably, looking back, I would say that a better decision would have been to take a step back, reset and recharge my batteries, and start all over again. But I did what I did. In the end I paid for my decision, but I’m very happy to have tennis in my life and it has helped me a lot to overcome whatever and to become stronger.”
Sabalenka was eventually forced to take a break from the court after a recent shoulder injury caused her to miss Wimbledon, but she returned to the tour and won the Cincinnati Open last week, her first title since the Australian Open in January.
She made the most of her enforced break by embarking on a trip with her new partner, Brazilian health food magnate and racing driver Georgios Frangulis, 35.
Last month, Sabalenka commented on a post shared by Franguilis in Portuguese and wrote: ‘The love of my life.’
Koltsov died aged 42 in March after falling from a 23rd-floor hotel balcony in Miami.
Koltsov played for the Pittsburgh Penguins and represented Belarus at two Winter Olympics.
Miami police say Belarusian former pro hockey player fell to his death at the St Regis Bal Harbour Resort
Frangulis is the founder of superfood brand Oakberry, one of the sponsors of the Haas F1 team.
After the pair were spotted kissing at a recent tournament, a tennis fan is said to have privately messaged Frangulis’ wife of eight years, Beh Armentano, asking if Sabalenka had “disturbed their marriage.”
She reportedly replied: “I am married to Georgios, but I am filing for divorce. They have been having an affair since California.”
According to his Facebook page, Armentano married Frangulis on October 1, 2016.
It is unclear when she met Sabalenka, but she is also linked to his brand after signing a two-year sponsorship deal in January, days before she successfully launched a bid to defend her Australian Open title.
Some fans had expressed surprise that Sabalenka had gone public with her new romance so soon after the death of Koltsov, with whom she was in a relationship for four years, after he fell 23 stories from the balcony of a five-star hotel in Miami on March 18.
At the time, police described Koltsov’s death as an “apparent suicide.”
The world number 2 referred to her new boyfriend, Georgios Frangulis, as the love of her life.
Sabalenka won the Cincinnati Open last weekend after nursing a shoulder injury earlier this year.
His ex-wife, Julia Mikhailova, said she believed her husband had been drinking on the night of the tragedy and that his death had been an accident.
She said Koltsov planned to visit her and her sons Daniil, 18, Alexander, 16, and Stefan, five, at their home about a mile from the scene of the tragedy.
No suicide note was found and Mikhailova said her ex-husband was looking forward to having dinner with the children.
Latvian-born Mikhailova was left heartbroken after Koltsov left the family home when the youngest of her three children was still a toddler.