Aryna Sabalenka said her “heart is broken” by the death of Konstantin Koltsov, asking for privacy for herself and the family of the former Belarusian hockey player she had dated.
Koltsov (42) died on Monday in Miami, days before the second-ranked Sabalenka was set to begin play in the Miami Open. Miami-Dade Police said the death was an apparent suicide and no foul play was suspected.
“Konstantin’s death is an unthinkable tragedy, and while we were no longer together, my heart is broken,” Sabalenka said in a statement released by her publicist Wednesday.
“Please respect my privacy and his family’s privacy during this difficult time.”
The 25-year-old Sabalenka, also from Belarus, had a bye in the first round of the tournament. A tournament spokesman said on Wednesday the plan is for Sabalenka to play against her good friend Paula Badosa on Friday.
Badosa admitted facing the Belarusian will be “uncomfortable”.
She said: I spoke with her a lot of time so I know what she’s going through.
“That for me is a little bit shocking also to go through that because at the end she’s my best friend and I don’t want her to suffer. It’s a very tough situation.
“At the same point, playing against her, it’s also uncomfortable.
“But I don’t really want to talk about it because I said I’m not going to talk about it.
“She’s a strong woman. I think she will get the power from somewhere.”
Caroline Wozniacki became emotional talking about the situation during her press conference, with the Dane saying: “I can’t even imagine what she’s going through right now.
“I’m also tearing up. It’s such a terrible situation. It’s so hard. I reached out to her and I told her that I was here if she needed anything.
“I love Aryna. I think she’s such a great person. To see her go through that, it’s heartbreaking.”
It is the second tragedy to hit the 25-year-old Sabalenka, whose father Sergey, also a former ice hockey player, died in 2019 at the age of 43.
