Aryna Sabalenka Opens Up on Konstantin Koltsov Death

Aryna Sabalenka has opened up about the difficult aftermath of her former boyfriend Konstantin Koltsov’s death, revealing that returning to tennis became her way of coping with grief.

The four-time Grand Slam champion was preparing for the Miami Open in March 2024 when she learned that Koltsov, a former NHL player, had died at the age of 42. Sabalenka, who had separated from Koltsov before his death, said the decision to continue playing was not about ignoring her grief but finding a way to manage it.

Aryna Sabalenka says tennis helped her through a difficult period

Sabalenka was advised by her coach Anton Dubrov to take some time away from tennis after Koltsov’s death. Instead, she chose to continue training, describing the sport as an escape from the thoughts surrounding the loss.

“Tennis really saved me from depression,” Sabalenka told TIME in a cover story published on August 13. “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.”

Her comments offer further insight into the period immediately after Koltsov’s death, when Sabalenka returned to competition just days later at the Miami Open.

The Belarusian lost to Anhelina Kalinina in the third round and smashed her racket during the match. She subsequently cancelled her press conference, drawing criticism online over her decision to compete so soon after the loss.

Aryna Sabalenka says there is no right way to grieve

Sabalenka has previously explained that she struggled to process Koltsov’s death when police approached her at the Miami Open practice courts to tell her what had happened.

Looking back, she rejected the idea that there is a prescribed way to deal with grief.

“I don’t know if there’s any cliché about how you’re supposed to grieve,” she said. “I feel like in this situation, there is no right and wrong. We all need different things.”

For Sabalenka, continuing to work offered a sense of structure when everything else had become difficult.

“I’m 28, but sometimes I think I’ve had everything in life that you could imagine,” she added.

Koltsov’s death brought back memories of Sabalenka’s father

The loss also came only five years after the death of Sabalenka’s father, Sergey, who died unexpectedly in 2019 when she was 21.

Her father had played an important role in both her personal life and tennis career, making his absence something Sabalenka continues to feel as her career progresses.

She previously explained that, in some ways, the grief has become more difficult with time because she increasingly thinks about how her father would have experienced her success.

“People say that time helps, but in some ways I struggle more now because I know how much fun my dad would be having with my success,” Sabalenka said.

Aryna Sabalenka still feels her father’s absence during major moments

Sabalenka is now engaged to Georgios Frangulis, but she said memories of her father can still trigger emotional moments, particularly when she sees other players celebrating achievements with their families.

“Nowadays my fiancé will find me crying in bed in the evening because I’m watching Reels and there’s something about a father, or old times,” she said.

The four-time Grand Slam champion said seeing fathers supporting their children on the tennis tour can be particularly difficult.

“There are so many fathers on tour, and when I see a healthy relationship and a proud dad, I think, Girl, just enjoy it, because you never know what’s coming. You’re so lucky.”

Sabalenka’s reflections underline how grief has remained intertwined with her rise to the top of women’s tennis. Rather than presenting her return to competition as a straightforward recovery, she described tennis as the routine that helped her keep moving through one of the most difficult periods of her life.