Aryna Sabalenka is a 27-year-old Belarusian tennis player. Through her career, she has won some prestigious tennis titles including the Australian singles grand slam in 2023. In her rise to the top, Sabalenka has enjoyed the support of her less-known parents, Sergey Sabalenka and Yulia Sabalenka.
Also adding to her popularity is her love life with a former hockey player, Konstantin Kolstov. Aside from this, there is so much about her that is making many curious to know.
She Was Born and Raised in Minsk, Belarus
Aryna Sabalenka, as you would find was born on May 5, 1998, in Minsk Belarus. She is one of two children born to her parents in the Belarusian capital. Aside from this, her childhood like that of many great athletes had it highpoint when she discovered tennis. Eversince, she pursued her career without turning back.
Regarding her education, Aryna was able to balance her studies at the Belarusian State University with her tennis career. Reportedly, the course she studied is sports related which is not surprising.
Let’s Meet The Tennis Star’s Parents
Sergey Sabalenka and Yulia Sabalenka are the parents of Aryna. The father of the world no 2 as of this writing was also an athlete in his own right, While he did not play on the court, Sergey Sabalenka was a hockey player. The tennis player’s mother is not as well known as she chooses to be a pillar to her daughter’s success away from the publicity.
Her father was the first person to introduce her to tennis at the age of six. Reportedly, the Minsk native first became interested after she saw some players while driving somewhere with her father. The encounter was so profound that she soon started going to practice at the National Tennis Academy in Minsk.
Focusing on his hockey career, Sergey played hockey till the age of 19. His career was short-lived due to a car accident. While he could not continue playing due to such a traumatic incident, Aryna’s father continued to play as an amateur. Regardless of having a short career, Sergey encouraged his daughter as she built her career.
Sadly, he did not live long to see her become the singles grand slam winner in his lifetime. He died in November, 2019 from health complications at the age of 43.
After Sergey’s death, Yulia is now the only parent that Aryna has. Aside from this, Aryna now enjoys support from both her mother and sister, Tonecka Sabalenka.
Aryna Sabalenka’s Net Worth
The tennis player has a net worth of $15 million which she made from her career. While she is yet to secure an American grand slam victory that has the highest prize money, she has participated in other tournaments that have big purses.
Aside from earning through her tennis prize purse, she also makes thousands of dollars through her endorsement deals. She has enjoyed sponsorship by Nike, one of the world’s biggest sport brands. The brand started covering her since when she launched her career. Aryna is also endorsed by Wilson. Noticeably, she uses their racquets.
She spends her money on charities like the Guillermo Mendoza Scholarship and the Belarusian children fund.
She is Dating Konstantin Kolstov
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Considering the waves that her career is causing in the tennis world, she also has a fantastic love story with her boyfriend, Konstantin Kolstov. It is unclear how Aryna and Kolstov met, yet they were first linked in June 2021. Moreso, it is thought that since they are both athletes, it is likely that they met through sporting activities. Since then, world no 2 since January 2023 has continued to share loved-up pictures with her love interest.
Like Sabalenka, her boyfriend has also enjoyed the adrenaline of victory while playing on the ice. Kolstov play professional ice hockey for 18 years. He participated in two Olympic Games in 2012 and 2010. Kolstov has not been seen on the ice in recent years. Nonetheless, he seems to be spending much of his time with Aryna and his three children from a previous relationship.
Aryna Was Engaged Before Meeting Kolstov
Looking at their romantic moments together with Kolstov, one would wonder if this is her first relationship. Well, it is the most publicized but not the first. As of 2019, Sabalenka was engaged to another man whom she did not reveal his identity.
She first broke the news of the engagement in November 2019. Curious fans assumed it was Dmitry Tursunov, her former coach, but she cleared the air by stating that the man is not from Belarus. Since Tursonov is a Belarusian, it left no doubt that the athlete is with another man.
While many looked forward to another power wedding, this never happened and no reason was ever given by the former world no 2.
See Also: Elena Rybakina: 10 Things No One Told You About The Tennis Player
Other Details About Sabalenka That You Should Know
1. She Made Her First Appearance Professional Appearance in 2012
As mentioned, Aryna’s venture into tennis was by chance when she was just six years old. Yet, she honed her skills and became one of the known faces among Belarusian tennis players. In 2012, she made her first appearance ITF circuit in Belarus. Since then, she made several appearances.
Despite her late entry into the sports, she soon made a name for herself in the Gradeb B1 as she never made it to the Junior tournaments. In 2017, she led the Belarusian team alongside Aliaksandra Sasnovich. At the time they had much odds against them including being ranked outside of the top 75 players. Thankfully, the outing gave her international exposure as they finished as second runner ups.
2. Aryna Sabalenka is a Two-time winner of the Doubles Grand Slam
Together with her doubles partner, Elise Mertens, they won two doubles grand slams. They won their first at the 2019 US open, the second oldest tennis tournament after the French Open. Sabalenka and Mertens soon repeated the feat at the 2021 Australian Open. Their second steal of the title sealed their position at the tennis doubles no.1.
Following their second victory in 2021, the pair parted ways to allow Sabalenka focus on singles.
3. The Belarusian Athlete won her First Grand Slam at the age of 24
The January 2023 grand slam gave Aryna one of her finest moments as she won against Elena Rybakina. At the start of the game, she lost the first set but soon recouped, and won in the next two sets.
Prior to this, she had reached three grand slam semi finals but also managed to lost. Her first semi finals lost was to Karolina Pliskova in 2021, Leylah Fernandez in 2021 and Iga Swiatek in 2022.
Needless to say, she moved beyond these losses and won. This career changing victory is the first single grand slam for her. Despite such a feat, the only missing thing was her father, an influential person in her career who can’t be present at such a fine moment. She took to her social media to ask if her father is happy. While he may not be here, Sabalenka returned back to the position of world no. 2 after this victory.
4. She Got Her Nickname From her Tiger Tattoo
Aryna is nicknamed The Tiger. This nickname comes from the small tiger tattoo on her left arm. Apparently, its significance is its fearlessness which the athlete has since adapted into her professional outlook.
For avid followers of the Bellarusian player, she is known for grunting on court when she serves. In the past this led to booing by crowds. Regardless of this, Aryna claims that her grunting sound is not a distraction to her opponents.
5. The Russian Invasion of Ukrain Stopped Her From Playing At Wimbledon
The player is one of the many athletes whose career is affected by the Russian-Ukrain war which started in February 2022. Belarus is one of Russia’s closest allies and since the decision to boycott players from both countries started by the All England team and Lawn Tennis Association, it prevented her from playing in April of the same year.
On her part, the Tiger did not make her stance known about the ongoing war. The effect of this is that she and other Belarusian and Russian players are not allowed to compete under their national flags. Its not surprising that when she won her Australian grand slam, it was under a neutral flag. Aside from Wimbledon, other tennis tournaments that banned the players are the Davis Cup and team competitions.
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