If Aryna Sabalenka (Minsk, Belarus, 1998) has shown anything in recent times, it is resilience and a spirit of improvement. The Belarusian focused on tennis to overcome the pain of losing her father at only 43 in 2019, who could not see her reach the top of the racket or be a two-time Grand Slam champion. Less than a month ago he won the Australian Open for the second consecutive time, a success that he dedicated to his father, whom he said he promised that one day he would become number one in the ranking and would have one of the biggest titles in tennis behind him. world.
«I'm trying to fight and I'm doing it for him. I simply came because I had to,” reflected the young woman, a semi-finalist last year at Roland Garros and Wimbledon and a finalist at the US Open, after breaking the news at the Adelaide tournament and which serves as a prologue to the first Grand Slam of the course. Thought that perhaps crosses the mind of the current number two on the planet after the sudden death of her boyfriend Konstantin Koltsov, who at 42 years old, would have taken his life in Miami, according to the Miami-Dade County Police Department. through a statement cited by the UPI agency and CNN. The Belarusian, a former professional ice hockey player like Sabalenka's father, was in the main city of Florida to accompany his partner at the WTA 1,000 in Miami, where the powerful player – one meter and 82 centimeters tall – continues forward and will play his first game this Friday in the midst of mourning.
Less than 48 hours after the tragic event, the tennis player was already training ahead of the tournament, where she will face what she considers her best friend on the circuit, the Spanish Paula Badosa, who eliminated the Romanian Simona Halep by 1 -6, 6-4 and 6-3. «She is one of my best friends and I know what she is going through, and it is not easy. I don't know what to say. She is a strong woman and I believe she will draw strength from anywhere. I hope it will be a nice battle and a good match, we will see,” said the Catalan after her first victory since last February 11 in Doha, in a press conference in which she had to face a second question about her friend, to whom he promised not to speak more about what happened to the media. «I promised him. For me it is also a shock. We leave it here. I'm sorry”.
Paula Badosa and Aryna Sabalenka
The drama of the Belarusian tennis player has deeply affected all the players on the circuit. Caroline Wozniacki, former world number 1, could not contain her tears in the press room after her match against Clara Burel. «I can't imagine what he is going through right now. I'm saying it and tears come to my eyes. It's a terrible situation. It's very hard, I have contacted her, so she knows that I am here if she needs anything,” the Danish tennis player noted excitedly.
With the tiger's head tattooed on her left forearm, the path of the tennis player with the most devastating hit in women's tennis to the top has not been easy at all. “It helps me when I'm on the court, it reminds me that I must fight until the end,” said in an interview the media athlete – 1.6 million followers on Instagram – to whom the importance of mental strength in tennis led her. to incorporate psychological work in his training to find regularity and enhance his qualities, which also helped him to face the attacks received for his relationship with Alexander Lukashenko, president of Belarus and who supports Vladimir Putin's regime in the middle of the war. from Russia and Ukraine. «I have been growing a lot over time; There is a lot of physical and mental work behind it; “Mentally I am very strong and nothing can destroy me,” highlighted the one from Minsk recently.
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