Aryna Sabalenka’s boyfriend Konstantin Koltsov dies as club confirms tragic news
World No 2 Aryna Sabalenka has been hit with an unimaginable tragedy as her boyfriend Konstantin Koltsov has died while accompanying his girlfriend at the Miami Open.
The Minsk-born Koltsov, a former professional ice hockey player who played for NHL outfit the Pittsburgh Penguins from 2002 to 2006 and the Belarus national team at the Olympics, was 42 at the time of his death.
The Belarusian retired as an ice hockey player in 2016 and had been working as an assistant coach at Russian club Salavat Yulaev.
The Kontinental Hockey League (KHL) club confirmed the 42-year-old’s death in a statement, saying: “It is with deep sorrow that we inform you that the coach of Salavat Yulaev, Konstantin Koltsov, has passed away.
“He was a strong and cheerful person, he was loved and respected by players, colleagues, and fans. Konstantin Evgenievich forever wrote himself into the history of our club. May he rest in peace.”
Koltsov represented the Belarusian national team in 67 international matches – scoring 21 times with 16 assists – and also competed at the Winter Olympics in 2002 and 2010. He played 144 matches for the Penguins across four seasons, scoring 12 goals with 26 assists, while he also represented the likes of Spartak Moscow and Dinamo Minsk.
He joined the KHL club Salavat Yulaev Ufa as a player in 2006 and later became an assistant coach while he also coached the Belarus national ice hockey team.
Reigning Australian Open champion Sabalenka and Koltsov first made their relationship public in 2021 when the tennis player posted an image of them together on Instagram, writing: “It’s good when there is someone who is able to understand my madness but you won’t get bored with me, right @koltsov2021 ? ❤️.”
Koltsov had three sons Daniel, Alexander and Stefan from a previous marriage that ended in divorce in 2020.
He accompanied Sabalenka to several big tournaments – including this year’s title run at the Australian Open – with the tennis player sharing a lot of their images on social media.
Koltsov’s death comes just five years after Sabalenka’s father Sergey died at the age of 43.
Sabalenka, who lost in the last 16 of the Indian Wells Open last week, was due to play at the Miami Open this week with her first match at the event scheduled for Friday, but the two-time Grand Slam winner is expected to withdraw from the WTA 1000 event.
The 25-year-old has also been withdrawn from the official practice schedules and social media posts about her participation have been removed.
Sabalenka and organisers, though, are yet to make an official announcement.
