Next blow of fate: How much more suffering does tennis star Sabelenka have to endure?

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The death of Konstantin Koltsov shocked the sports world on Tuesday. The former NHL forward died at the age of 42. The Belarusian portal “Telegraf” reports that a blood clot could have been the cause. The sadness is not only great in ice hockey, countless tennis fans are also deeply affected. Because Koltsov was Aryna Sabalenka’s boyfriend.

The Belarusian is currently number 2 in the world and has been in a relationship with the assistant coach of the KHL club Salawat Julayev Ufa for three years. So far, there has been no response from the 25-year-old. But for her it is another fate in her young life.

Grand Slam dream with a dead father

In November 2019, her father died at the age of 43. In an Instagram post six months later, she remembered him, saying: “If I had known you would leave so soon, I would hug you all the time. I can’t believe such a strong man left so early !”

In the final episode of the first season of the Netflix series “Break Point,” Sabalenka revealed, “We had a dream: that I would win two Grand Slam singles titles by the time I was 25.” The conversation was recorded before her first title at the Australian Open in January 2023, which is why she said at the time: “I’m 24 now and I still don’t have one in the bag.”

When the episode first aired on June 21, she was already the winner of the Australian Open, but also 25 years old. The relief was enormous after the title Down Under, as she said at the beginning of the second season of ‘Break Point’: “He would be proud of me no matter what.” And she is now a two-time Grand Slam winner, having won again in Melbourne in January.

“I don’t support the war”

The war in Ukraine has also affected her in the past two years. Because the Belarusian regime around ruler Alexander Lukashenko (69) joined forces with Russian President Vladimir Putin (71), Belarusian athletes were also pilloried. They were asked to take a stand against the war.

Sabalenka did this last year at the French Open: “I don’t support the war, which means I don’t support Lukashenko.” The Ukrainian Elina Switolina (29, WTA 17) previously refused to shake her hand and walked past her in silence.

And yet she had to justify herself again and again. “I have never experienced so much hatred in the dressing room,” she said before the tournament in Paris. “That was very difficult for me to understand that there are now so many people who hate me for no reason.”

However, there is a good chance that she will receive a lot of emotional support during these hours. But the question is whether she will participate in the Masters tournament in Miami (Florida), which starts on Wednesday.

Source : Blick