The Daily Telegraph - Saturday - Sport Saturday
Crowd rises to grieving Sabalenka
Winning return after death of ex-boyfriend in Miami Belarusian wears black in defeat of friend Badosa
Aryna Sabalenka received a standing ovation last night after beating Paula Badosa days after the death of her ex-boyfriend.
The world No2 swapped her vibrant pink outfits for all black to play her “best friend” in the second round of the Miami Open.
Despite being delayed six hours by relentless rain, the bleechers gradually filled up with fans who bellowed in support of the Belarusian two-time grand-slam winner.
Sabalenka, who won 6-4, 6-3, appeared focused and in good spirits, at points even laughing with her Spanish opponent across the net.
The courageous performance took place just 12 miles from the five-star St Regis Bal Harbour resort where Konstantin Koltsov is believed to have leapt to his death in an apparent suicide last Sunday night. Determined to remain in her “home” tournament, the “heartbroken” Sabalenka returned to the court to practise in the days following his death.
Despite her brave appearance, Sabalenka kept to herself during a week of torment, grieving the loss of the man she once described as her “greatest support”. Trying to avoid the spotlight, insiders said she requested her game be moved from the main Stadium court to the smaller Grandstand court.
“She’s stayed away as much as she could,” Prakash Amritraj, a presenter for the Tennis Channel, told Telegraph Sport. “When you do see her, your heart just sinks immediately”, he said, before adding: “I did see her one of the first couple days and understandably she kind of kept to herself. It’s impossible to fathom how difficult it is.”
Amritraj said it was fitting that Sabalenka was playing Badosa because “there’ll be great love and sympathy on the other side of the net, and Paula will give that to her because that’s the kind of person Paula is”.
Sabalenka has not commented on Koltsov’s death other than to say her “heart was broken” by the “unthinkable tragedy”.
While it is not clear when the pair split, Sabalenka had been dating the 42-year-old ice hockey player since 2021 and he had been courtside when she won her second Australian Open in Melbourne in January.
Badosa, 26, had previously said that it would be “uncomfortable” facing her grieving friend on a tennis court so soon after Koltsov’s death.
“I know the entire situation, what is happening,” she said.
“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.”