Now that she’s lived it, endured the struggles and fought to hold the winner’s trophy aloft again on the eve of the US Open, Aryna Sabalenka can reflect on what has been.
The last two months for the woman, now favorite to win the final grand slam of the year, have been dominated by a debilitating shoulder injury that kept her out of Wimbledon. The few weeks leading up to that were spent battling illness, first when he was bedridden for days before the Italian Open, and then a stomach bug that dashed his French Open hopes.
Those physical ailments paled in significance compared to the emotional turmoil that preceded them when her ex-boyfriend, former international ice hockey player and Belarusian Konstantin Koltsov, died in March.
When his death was first announced, Koltsov was widely reported to still be Sabalenka’s partner, until he clarified that “when we were no longer together, my heart is broken”. Aside from these briefest of statements on social media and another thanking her fans for their support, she clearly hasn’t discussed what she described as an “unthinkable tragedy” and hasn’t strayed from her work.
Sabalenka dedicated herself to hitting balls just like she did after the death of her father Sergei in 2019, who was so influential in developing her tennis path.
A day after Koltsov’s death, he practiced in front of the crowd before the Miami Open. A few days later, he took on his good friend Paula Badosa in that tournament. The only small consent to the situation was to give up his usual media duties. It was no surprise when he left Miami and the subsequent event in Stuttgart early.
Only now, after months and an injury-induced absence, is the 26-year-old able to realize that she probably should have done things differently.
“Once I lost my father and tennis helped me cope with that difficult loss,” he said. “So at that moment [of Koltsov’s death] I thought I just had to keep going, keep playing, keep doing my job to separate my personal life from my professional life.
“But at the end of the day, I’d say I had a lot of struggles health-wise because I didn’t quit. It was really emotional and really stressful and kind of damaged my sanity at that point.
“Looking back right now, I’d probably say the better decision would have been to back off, reset and reload and start all over again. But I did what I did. In the end I paid for my decision, but I’m really glad I have tennis in my life and it’s really helped me through everything and get stronger.
So could the recent shoulder injury be considered an accidental positive if he is forced to take time off the field? “Yeah, definitely,” he says. “I only realized when I was injured and had to retire that it was something really necessary.
“It was really sad and I struggled a lot not to play Wimbledon, but at the same time I was able to make the most of the time. I did a lot of rehab and treatments, but I was able to enjoy my life and time away from tennis and take all the positives from not competing on tour.
– In the end, I realized that it is very much needed. Now I feel physically and mentally much better and much stronger.
Central has been the support of her new boyfriend, Oakberry acai brand founder Georgios Frangulis, whom she publicly thanked on the court after her Cincinnati Open victory this week. Sabalenka has recently launched her own personal Power Serve bowl through the company—“It’s a neat, healthy snack that gives you a lot of energy,” she says—which begs the question, which came first, the endorsement or the personal relationship?
He greets it with a familiar laugh, before confirming that he only met Frangulis through a business deal: “We signed a contract, then we got to know each other and somehow we ended up together.”
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That win in Cincinnati was not without controversy when it emerged that he was paid exactly half of the $1,049,460 (£805,198) prize money won by men’s champion Jannik Sinner in the best-of-three event for men and women. set matches.
“From a TV point of view, from a ticket sales point of view, it’s unfair,” Sabalenka said. “Of course the boys will always be physically stronger than the girls, but that doesn’t mean we don’t work as hard as they do. Women deserve the same salary as men.”
With the US Open starting Monday in New York, Sabalenka’s win — her first title since winning the Australian Open in January — couldn’t have come at a better time. After fighting back in tournaments in Washington and Toronto, the Belarusian did not drop a single set in the tournament in Cincinnati, taking his first straight win over world number one Iga Swiatek in the semifinals before the home favorite. Jessica Pegula for the title.
Now back in the world rankings at No. 2 and set as favourites, better than her runner-up finish at the US Open last year, Sabalenka says the win has given her “so much belief” that she can claim her first grand. slam title away from two wins at the Australian Open.
Having met Swiatek four times in either the final or semi-finals over the past year – though never at a grand slam, Sabalenka hopes her rivalry with the Pole will cement their status as the dominant duo in women’s tennis.
“Beating Iga in two sets was crazy and I’m really happy about it. I think we’re going to work really hard to make sure we face each other in the latter stages of every tournament – to continue this rivalry between the two of us.
“We cannot forget [Elena] Rybakina, approx [Barbora] Krejcikova, from Coco [Gauff]. And Paula too [Badosa] coming back from injury and doing really well. But I would definitely like to see us competing in the latter stages of the tournament as often as possible.
“I think it’s a great thing for women’s tennis that several big names are always reaching the latter stages of the tournament; to see this consistency.”
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