sport news Aryna Sabalenka's painful personal past: World tennis No 2 grieved her father's ... trends now
Sloane Stephens appeared to be the first player on the Tour to reference the news - then unsubstantiated - that was swirling on social media.
'That moment when can actually feel the pain in your chest from hearing something or seeing something that breaks your heart,' the former US Open champion wrote.
Although Stephens was unwilling to stress what she was referring to, confirmation that two-time Australian Open winner Aryna Sabalenka had lost her long-term partner Konstantin Koltslov to an apparent blood clot served to make it near-impossible that Sabalenka's former opponent could have been thinking of anything else.
Not only were Sabalenka and Koltsov deeply, publicly, in love, but the tragedy was further underscored by his age.
At just 42, his youth might have been jarring to casual followers of the world number two's career, but to those who have had tracked Sabalenka for longer, it seems eerily close to the age of her father Sergey, whose death at 43 in 2019 sparked what has been a tragic and unsettling five-year period of the tennis star's life.
Aryna Sabalenka lost her boyfriend Konstantin Koltsov to a blood clot on Monday evening
The pair had been together for just three years after confirming their relationship in 2021
Koltsov's tragic death comes just five years after the world number two lost her father Sergey
Her father was the first to introduce her to the sport after driving her past some empty tennis courts when she was just six years old. Interest piqued, he began to teach her, handing down his own athletic ambition after a car accident when he was 19 shattered his career as a professional ice hockey star.
Sabalenka was scarcely older when she was forced to suffer the shock tragedy in November 2019, and forced to digest her bereavement during her sport's off-season.
'During the pre-season it was tough to practice mentally,' the then-21-year-old said upon her return to the tour at the 2020 Adelaide International in early January. 'I didn't think too much actually.'
But she had forced herself to leave Belarus because of almost primal tie to tennis, and the feeling of 'having' to enter into matches with the start of the new season.
'I'm just trying to fight because my dad wanted me to be No 1,' she said at the time. 'I'm doing it for him, so that's what is helping me to be strong right now'.
Winning at the Qatar Open in April that year marked her first trophy claimed after Sergey's death, believed to be from transient meningitis, which she was quick to attribute to him, 'her biggest motivation'.
Indeed, much of her drive to reach the top has stemmed from her bid to not only memoralise him, but to learn from the tragic experience.
Sabalenka's father is credited with introducing the two-time Grand Slam winner to the sport
The 43-year-old died of transient meningitis in November 2019 - but Sabalenka was back competing again at the start of 2020
'I think after I realised that there were so many things in life to worry about and tennis is only a small part of my life, in the big picture,' Sabalenka said of the 'turning point' her father's death had been in 2021.
'Obviously I don't like to lose and I love tennis and I'll do everything I can, but we have to enjoy our life, we have to enjoy our time on the court, enjoy the opportunities we have.'
But with his passing came a pressure, and the feeling of a responsibility to live up to their shared goals. During her episode in the second season of Netflix docu-series Break Point, Sabalenka was seen frustrated by her apparent failure to meet one specific target.
'I lost my father four years ago,' Sabalenka told the camera. 'We had one dream, that before 25 I will win a couple of grand slams.
'When he passed away, I started thinking too much about it. Now I'm 24 and there is zero in my pocket.'
But by January 2023, Sabalenka's fortunes changed drastically with her first Australian Open win. The newly minted champion had previously shared that her relationship her mother Yulia had changed dramatically after her father's death, due to how painful it felt to discuss him with her - prompting a total shut-down on mentioning Sergey with her family.
In scenes captured in the aftermath of her win, Sabalenka admonishes her mother for bringing up her father and making her cry in front of the camera crew, explaining that in the midst of her titanic achievement, her thoughts were elsewhere.
Sabalenka won the Australian Open in January for the second year in a row at just 25 years old
In Netflix docu-series Break Point, Sabalenka spoke of her desire to claim the wins in her father's name
'It's really sad because I really want him to be here,' Sabalenka said. 'I really want to call him and hear what he could say.'
Instead the 25-year-old could take scant consolation from his surname being engraved on the trophy.
A year later, Sabalenka returned to her father again after completing the back-to-back successive Grand Slam victories.
'I just have to keep fighting for my dream and make sure that if there is something I want to believe (in) and there is something, that my father is watching me and very proud of me,' she stressed.
Her candour isn't without purpose. Sabalenka stated in 2023 that she believes her story can 'motivate people and help them find a way out of situations'.
'It's hard to lose a loved one, especially a father. You have to find the motivation to move forward in life.'
For the past three years, Sabalenka has had Koltsov by her side. The former ice hockey player and assistant coach was not only a frequently guest in her player's box on tour, but a devoted boyfriend on social media, where he often shared messages of love and support - most recently on International Women's Day two weeks ago.
Sabalenka is thought to have started dating Koltsov in June 2021, but the start of their relationship might have been more turbulent than at first glance, with Koltsov's ex-wife Julija appearing to implicate the player in the breakdown of her marriage.
In a post shared announcing her divorce from Koltsov in 2020, Julija- who shares sons Daniel, Alexander, and Stefan with her former husband - decried 'girls who are hanging onto people's husbands' in her pointed caption.
'And now we will see who reads the posts (wink-face emoji, relief-laugh emoji) We live in a world of social networks and too many questions have accumulated... This will be the last photo with him on my insta where we are together and where we were insanely happy!!! (heart emoji)' Julija wrote.
Both Koltsov and Sabalenka shared their affection for one another on social media, with the former paying tribute to his girlfriend on International Women's Day this year
Koltsov's ex-wife Julija previously appeared to accuse Sabalenka of being involved in the breakdown of her marriage
Koltsov and his wife shared three sons - Alexander, Daniel, and Stefan - who Sabalenka seemed to grow close to
'Pretty much our marriage is about to be a damn dozen. And we broke up. (Broken heart emoji) Our family couldn't survive a year without Constantine's work, a baby (respectively sleepless nights and tiredness(saddened emoji)) and
