Konstantin Koltsov: Aryna Sabalenka to play in Miami Open after death of boyfriend

After her boyfriend, former ice hockey player Konstantin Koltsov passed away, Aryna Sabalenka has made plans to compete in the Miami Open.

At 42 years old, Koltsov, who participated in the Winter Olympics for Belarus in both 2002 and 2010, has passed away.

He was also a member of the Pittsburgh Penguins for a duration of three years in the NHL.

Sabalenka, a fellow countryman, who is 25 years old, has secured the second seed spot in the upcoming Miami tournament and is scheduled to make her entry in the second round this week.

She gets to skip the first round and wait for the outcome of the match between Simona Halep and Paula Badosa, scheduled for Tuesday. Afterwards, she will face the victor either on Thursday or Friday.

Koltsov passed away while present in Miami, with the Miami-Dade Police Department making a statement that his demise appeared to be a result of suicide.

The statement mentioned that there is no evidence of any wrongdoing or illegal activity involved.

The dad of Sabalenka, who was once a hockey player, passed away in the year of 2019 and he was only 43 years old.

Sabalenka, the second-ranked tennis player in the world, revealed that Sergey is the primary factor that drives her to succeed. She recently defended her Australian Open championship and accomplished a shared goal with Sergey of winning two Grand Slam titles before reaching 25 years of age.

Koltsov stopped playing in 2016 and worked as a helper coach for the Salavat Yulaev Ufa team in the Kontinental Hockey League located in Russia.

The club's website released a message regarding Koltsov's passing, portraying him as a robust and jolly individual, who had gained admiration and adoration from his teammates, workmates, and supporters.

The Pittsburgh Penguins also showed their respect and sympathy by expressing, "Our thoughts and prayers go out to the loved ones and acquaintances of Konstantin Koltsov, who played as a Penguins' forward in the past."

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