‘Tennis saved me from depression’ says Aryna Sabalenka

Aryna Sabalenka. Pic/Aryna’s Instagram

Women's World No. 1 tennis ace Aryna Sabalenka has had plenty of success in the last few years, winning four Grand Slam titles. However, her journey to the top has not been plain sailing. She faced plenty of hurdles on the court and off it, the most major one being the loss of her former boyfriend Konstantin Koltsov.

Konstantin Koltsov

Koltsov, a former National Hockey League player, died by suicide in March 2024, and although he had split with Sabalenka by then, the sudden news of his passing hit the Bulgarian hard. And, through those difficult times, tennis turned out to be her saving grace.

"Tennis really saved me from depression. I was just trying to focus on training, just so I spend less time with myself in my thoughts. I would cry in practice a lot. It was a very tough moment in my life," Sabalenka told Time Magazine, in a recent interview. Focussing on work helped Sabalenka improve her mental health, as did winning the US Open. Then, by the end of the year, she began dating Brazilian entrepreneur Georgios Frangulis, whom she's now engaged to, proving that there's always light at the end of every tunnel.

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