Aryna Sabalenka has refused to condemn her own explosive on-court behavior, branding her various meltdowns a ‘necessary evil’ to her success.
The Belarusian star, 28, has established herself as one of the fiercest competitors in tennis in recent years, rocketing to world No 1 thanks to her four Grand Slam titles in three years.
However, the tennis sensation has often found herself in the headlines for reasons other than her undisputable success.
The fiery player has attracted controversy in recent years for her various emotional outbursts, which have included launching a racket towards a ball kid during last October’s Wuhan Open and most recently yelling at a heckling spectator to ‘shut up’ during this year’s Miami Open final.
‘I would get super emotional all the time,’ she reflected on the early days of her career in an interview with Vogue. ‘I was, like, under zero control. I could lead the match, then be super crazy and let it go. I knew that I had a problem.’
Yet, Sabalenka defended her tempestuous on-court behavior, insisting that is, in fact, a key part of her success.
Tennis sensation Aryna Sabalenka dazzled on the digital cover of Vogue’s May edition
The world No 1 opened up on her on-court outbursts and grieving her ex-boyfriend
‘I feel like all of us think, “Okay, I should win every match.” If you’re not thinking that way, then what are you doing? When you’re in the top five and you’re winning Grand Slams, it’s not okay to be okay with losing. That’s my mentality,’ Sabalenka said.
She added: ‘When I was young, I would get emotional, and then I would get really p***ed with myself for getting emotional. Now I understand that it’s okay to throw the racket. It’s okay to yell something. It’s okay to go nuts if you feel like you’re holding too much in.
‘Sometimes you just need to let it go, to empty it so you’re ready to start over and play the match. Yeah, sometimes it looks ugly and terrible, but I need it in order to keep my head in it.’
Sabalenka, who dazzled on the digital cover of Vogue’s May edition in a Gucci crop top and sheer black maxi skirt, was also transparent about her grief after losing her ex-boyfriend, Konstantin Koltsov, in March 2024.
Koltsov died at the age of 42 after falling from a balcony on the 23rd floor of a Miami five-star hotel in an apparent suicide.
Sabalenka, who was no longer in a relationship with the hockey player at the time, was practising nearby ahead of the Miami Open.
Police officers approached her on the courts during a practice session ahead of the tournament to inform her of Koltsov’s death.
She has now shared to Vogue that she was ‘fighting’ with the cops, unable to come to terms with the heartbreaking loss.
Despite the unthinkable tragedy, Sabalenka continued to immerse herself into her on-court grind, just as she did following the death of her father, Sergey, in 2019.
Sabalenka threw her racket towards a ball kid at the Wuhan Open in October 2025
Former NHL player and Sabalenka’s fellow Belarusian Konstantin Koltsov died in March 2024
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Days after Koltsov’s death, Sabalenka took down close friend Paula Badosa in the tournament, before exiting against Ukrainian Anhelina Kalinina in the Round of 32.
Yet, her decision to continue competing in the wake of the heartbreaking tragedy was met with reproach from social media users who questioned her swift return to the court.
‘I feel like in this situation, there is no right and wrong,’ she told Vogue, claiming there is no ‘cliche’ on how to grieve. ‘We all need different things. For me, going back to work is the only way. I’m 28, but sometimes I think I’ve had everything in life that you could imagine.’
Sabalenka suffered another personal tragedy in 2019 when she lost her father suddenly to meningitis, at the age of just 43.
Her father was the first to introduce her to the sport after driving her past some empty tennis courts when she was just six years old. Interest piqued and he began to teach her, handing down his own athletic ambition after a car accident when he was 19 shattered his career as a professional hockey star.
Sabalenka was scarcely older when she suffered the shock tragedy in November 2019, forced to digest her bereavement during her sport’s offseason.
Koltsov died aged 42 after falling from a hotel balcony on the 23rd floor in Miami
Sabalenka recalled her and her mother’s repeated attempts to call for medical help in her hometown of Minsk, revealing that an ambulance finally took him to the hospital on their third day of trying. However, by then, it was too late.
‘People say that time helps, but in some ways I struggle more now because I know how much fun my dad would be having with my success,’ Sabalenka, who’s now engaged to fiancé Georgios Frangulis, said.
‘Nowadays my fiancé will find me crying in bed in the evening because I’m watching Reels and there’s something about a father, or old times,’ she added. ‘The most sensitive videos for me are when I see people posting a family reaction to their kid athlete winning something, and I just imagine how my dad would react to me.
‘I’m crying like crazy, like I just lost him. There are so many fathers on tour, and when I see a healthy relationship and a proud dad, I think, Girl, just enjoy it, because you never know what’s coming. You’re so lucky.’
