Who is Aryna Sabalenka's boyfriend? Meet the former ice hockey player who cheered the 24-year-old on to Australian Open glory

Australian Open champion Aryna Sabalenka's boyfriend is Konstantin Koltsov, a former ice hockey player.

It's not clear when Koltsov and Sabalenka started dating, but they have been together for some time now. Their first Instagram image as a couple shows that the two have been together since at least June 2021.

Koltsov's ice hockey career started in 1997 at Russian club Severstal Cherepovets. He played on the right wing and spent most of his club career in Russia and Belarus. However, he did have a spell with the NHL's Pittsburgh Penguins too.

Koltsov was the Penguins' first-round pick in the 1999 NHL Entry Draft and the 18th overall. He played a total of 144 matches for the American side, amassing 12 goals and 26 assists.

Koltsov had a long international career with Belarus, representing them in two Winter Olympics - most notably in Salt Lake City in 2002, when they finished fourth. He also competed in nine Ice Hockey World Championships.

The Belarusian, now 41 years old, announced his retirement from the sport in 2016 after playing 18 seasons.

Koltsov wasn't spotted in person during the 2023 Australian Open. But he was certainly there in spirit to see his girlfriend lift her maiden Grand Slam title, and even took to social media later to share his happiness.

Aryna Sabalenka won her maiden Grand Slam title at the 2023 Australian Open

Aryna Sabalenka celebrating her Australian Open triumph with her team

Aryna Sabalenka won her maiden Grand Slam singles title at the 2023 Australian Open by beating Elena Rybakina 4-6, 6-3, 6-4 in the final. The 24-year-old did not have it easy in the last game of the match, as she had to wait until her fourth championship point to seal the deal.

In her post-match press conference, Sabalenka was asked how she felt during the final game, especially after double-faulting on her first championship point. The Belarusian joked that the double fault was a good start for her before admitting that she was a little nervous during the game.

Sabalenka was glad she was eventually able to handle it well, revealing that she kept reminding herself that winning Grand Slams was not easy and that she simply had to keep working until the very last point.

"Well, it was a good start for me. I was like, Well, it's going to be fun after the double-fault. The last game, yeah, of course I was a little bit nervous. I was keep telling myself like, Nobody tells you that it's going to be easy, you just have to work for it, work for it till the last point," Aryna Sabalenka said.

"Yeah, there was a tough game. I'm super happy that I was able to handle all those emotions and win this one," she added.