Tennis player Aryna Sabalenka “broken hearted” after the death of her ex-boyfriend | People

Belarusian Aryna Sabalenka, number two in the women’s world tennis rankings (WTA), took to social media to come out with a “broken heart” after the death of her ex-boyfriend Konstantin Koltsov.

In the post, which was available on Instagram stories (and which has since disappeared), Sabalenka asked for respect for her privacy and also for “her family’s privacy during this difficult time”, describing Koltsov’s death as “an unthinkable tragedy”.

Konstantin Koltsov, a professional ice hockey player from Belarus, retired from the field eight years ago, having played for the Pittsburgh Penguins, in the North American Hockey League (NHL), for three seasons, between 2002 and 2006. Currently, the athlete was an assistant coach for Salavat Yulaev Ufa, a Russian professional ice hockey club based in Ufa, Bashkortostan, and head coach of the Belarusian national team.

Salavat Yulaev announced Koltsov’s death last Monday. According to Miami-Dade police, Koltsov, who was 42 years old, jumped from a balcony at The St. Regis Bal Harbor, a luxury hotel in Miami Beach, Florida, USA, stressing that there was no evidence of crime. The death was pronounced a suicide.

However, the player’s ex-wife Yulia Mikhailova, from whom he divorced in 2020 and with whom he had three children — Daniil, 18, Alexander, 16, and Stefan, aged 5 — told the Belarusian news agency Zerkalo to consider The hypothesis of suicide is unlikely, noting that the former partner could have been “very drunk” and accidentally fallen.

“Empty alcohol bottles were found in the room where Konstantin stayed”, he highlighted, adding that he entered his email and found information that corroborates your idea. For example, Koltsov was waiting to receive goods that he had purchased, had rented a car for a long period and had future accommodation reservations already paid for.

“At this point it is impossible to say for sure whether it was suicide or an accident,” he said, without failing to declare that “he had no intention of dying” and that “there were no signs of tragedy.”

From what is known, despite the relationship with Aryna Sabalenka having ended, Konstantin Koltsov was in the USA to support his ex-girlfriend at the Miami Open.

Despite the shock, Sabalenka, winner of three Grand Slams (the US Open in 2019 and the Australian Open in 2021 and 2024), chose to remain in the tournament and will face this Friday with the Spanish Paula Badosa (80 .ª in the WTA ranking), in the round of 32.