Aryna Sabalenka Opens Up About Ex-Boyfriend’s Death and Its Impact on Her Mental Health
Tennis star Aryna Sabalenka is sharing her personal struggles for the first time, revealing how the death of her ex-boyfriend, hockey player Konstantin Koltsov, affected her mental health.
Sabalenka, 26, told that she initially thought playing tennis would help her cope with the loss, just as it had after her father’s passing. However, she now regrets not taking a break from the sport to process her emotions. “At the end, I would say I was struggling a lot healthwise because I didn’t stop,” she explained. “It was really emotional and really stressful, and kind of damaged my mental health at that point.”
Koltsov, 42, died, with authorities ruling out foul play. Sabalenka had to deal not only with her grief but also with multiple illnesses, including a shoulder injury that forced her to withdraw from Wimbledon.
Hollywood mourned many celebrities in 2024. Speed Racer star Christian Oliver (born Christian Klepser) died at the age of 51 during a fatal plane crash on January 5. Oliver was traveling home from a Caribbean vacation with his two daughters — Madita and Annik, whom he shared with wife Jessica Klepser — on January 4. […]
Looking back, Sabalenka believes she should have taken a step back and prioritized her well-being. “Probably, looking back right now, I would say that a better decision would have been to step back, reset and recharge, and start everything over again.”
On a positive note, Sabalenka considers her shoulder injury a blessing in disguise, as it forced her to take a break from tennis. “I realized it only after I was injured and had to step back that actually it was something much needed,” she said.
Today, Sabalenka says she feels “physically and mentally much better and much stronger” as she prepares to compete at the 2024 U.S. Open in New York City later this month.
A series of tragic deaths, both on and off the ice, has left the world of professional hockey in mourning. On March 18, 2024, former NHL players Konstantin Koltsov and Chris Simon were announced dead in separate instances, the latest in a string of recent passings to rock the sport. Koltsov, who played for the […]
Sabalenka has since moved on with Oakberry founder and CEO Georgios Frangulis. She confirmed their relationship in an Instagram video shared by the Berlin Ladies Open in June by pulling up Frangulis’ Instagram profile and referring to him as her “boyfriend” when asked to show her favorite Instagram account.
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