"Aryna Sabalenka hasn't 100% recovered yet" - Coach Anton Dubrov on Belarusian finding 'cure' in tennis after 'tragic event' of ex-boyfriend's death

Aryna Sabalenka's coach Anton Dubrov recently revealed that she hasn't moved on completely from her ex-boyfriend Konstantin Koltsov's tragic death. As per reports, Koltsov apparently ended his life in Miami, aged 42.

Koltsov notably represented Belarus' national ice hockey team at the Winter Olympics in 2002 and 2010 as a forward. He also played for the Pittsburgh Penguins in the NHL from 2002-2006.

Sabalenka announced her relationship with Koltsov in 2021 but just days after the latter's passing away, she said that the two had broken up at the time of the latter's death.

"Konstantin's death is an unthinkable tragedy, and while we were no longer together, my heart is broken," Aryna Sabalenka wrote on Instagram.

The incident occurred a few days before the Miami Open, where Sabalenka reached the third round before losing to Anhelina Kalinina in three sets.

Since then, the 26-year-old has registered a quarterfinal run at the Porsche Tennis Grand Prix in Stuttgart and ended as the runner-up at the Madrid Open. She's currently in Rome for the Italian Open, where she will face either Katie Volynets or Wang Yafan in the first round.

Sabalenka's head coach Anton Dubrov spoke about the former's state of mind after Koltsov's death. Dubrov suggested that tennis has come to the World No. 2 rescue, saying (as quoted by L'Equipe):

"It's not easy because a tragic event happened in her life. Of course, it's hard to separate it from tennis, but at the same time the idea was to try to sideline it and focus on the game, which can become a cure."

Dubrov continued:

"When you go out on the court and know what to do, even if you're upset, angry, it can give you a feeling of healing. The opportunity to be on the court is a kind of medicine. Whatever happens in life, the main thing is to continue to do simple things, to live on. She hasn't 100% recovered yet, but she's already better."

---

"We in the team support Aryna Sabalenka so that she can focus" - Anton Dubrov

Aryna Sabalenka with her team.

In the aforementioned interview, Anton Dubrov added that he and the team leave no stone unturned in keeping Aryna Sabalenka focused on her primary task, which is to get better at tennis.

"We in the team try to support Aryna and do everything possible so that she can focus on what she needs to do," Dubrov said as quoted by L'Equipe.

Dubrov has been with Aryna Sabalenka since the year 2020. He, to begin with, joined her team as the hitting partner but was promoted to head coach. Apart from him, the Belarusian enjoys the company of Jason Stacy and former ATP player Andrei Vasilevski.

Stacy looks after the Belarusian's physical well-being whereas Vasilevski helps her practice on the court as her hitting partner.