Aryna Sabalenka practices at Laborious Rock Stadium in Miami on 20 March 2024. (Picture by Megan Briggs/Getty Photos)
- Girls’s tennis star Aryna Sabalenka will play the Miami Open regardless of the loss of life of her former boyfriend, former NHL ice hockey participant Konstantin Koltsov.
- Koltsov’s loss of life is being handled as an ‘obvious suicide’, in response to Miami-Dade Police.
- Sabalenka says they have been now not collectively however provides it was an “unthinkable tragedy”.
- For extra sports activities information, go to the News24 Sport entrance web page.
World quantity two Aryna Sabalenka mentioned she was “heart-broken” by the loss of life of her former boyfriend Konstantin Koltsov in an announcement on Wednesday the place she revealed that they had not been a pair on the time of his loss of life.
“Konstantin’s loss of life is an unthinkable tragedy, and whereas we have been now not collectively, my coronary heart is damaged. Please respect my privateness and his household’s privateness throughout this troublesome time,” Sabalenka mentioned in an announcement launched by her agent.
READ | Tennis stars rally around Sabalenka at Miami Open
Koltsov died on Monday with Miami police saying he had jumped from the balcony of a room in a resort in an “obvious suicide”.
Koltsov, a former NHL ice hockey participant and later coach, was 42 years outdated.
He had been in a relationship with Sabalenka for over three years in response to media stories.
Two-time Grand Slam winner Sabalenka, 25, is because of play within the second spherical of the Miami Open on Friday in opposition to Spaniard Paula Badosa.
Badosa is a detailed good friend of Sabalenka’s and mentioned the match can be “uncomfortable”.
“I do know your entire state of affairs, what is going on. That for me is a bit bit surprising additionally to undergo that as a result of on the finish she’s my finest good friend and I do not need her to endure. It is a very robust state of affairs,” she added.
“On the similar level enjoying in opposition to her, it is also uncomfortable.”
Gamers on the WTA have expressed their assist for the Belarusian, who on Tuesday practised on an outdoor court docket and has given no indication of withdrawing from the match.
Koltsov’s enjoying profession included a stint with the Pittsburgh Penguins within the NHL, the place he made 144 appearances between 2003 and 2006.
He additionally performed for Belarus at two Winter Olympic Video games – Salt Lake Metropolis in 2002 and Vancouver in 2010 – in addition to 9 world championships.
He had three youngsters together with his spouse Julia, whom he divorced in 2020 earlier than he started a relationship with Sabalenka.