Aryna Sabalenka did not cry in front of the cameras. She cried during training, alone, with her racket in hand, while the world continued to see her as the No. 1 in women’s tennis.
In March 2024, Konstantin Koltsov, her former partner, a 42-year-old former hockey player, died. Her coach and family asked her to stop, to rest.
She did the opposite: she traveled to Miami and played the tournament days later, although she ended up breaking her racket on the court after losing in the third round.
“Tennis truly saved me from depression. I was just trying to focus on training, to spend less time alone with my thoughts. It was a very difficult time in my life”
the tennis player confessed to TIME magazine. Five years earlier, she had already lost her father. Sabalenka learned to carry the pain while continuing to win…