Aryna Sabalenka admits physical and psychological stress after the death of her ex-boyfriend | Tennis News

Aryna Sabalenka admits she should have taken a break from tennis after the death of her ex-boyfriend in March.

Sabalenka was playing at the Miami Open when former NHL player Konstantin Koltsov died at the age of 42. Police said it was a suicide. The Belarusian said at the time that she was “inconsolable.”

Although she did not withdraw from the tournament, her health suffered in the following months as illness derailed her French Open campaign before she was forced to withdraw from Wimbledon due to a shoulder injury.

She then took a break but returned with a win at the Cincinnati Open and is now aiming to include the US Open, which begins on Monday, in her schedule. live on Sky Sports.

“I think I will definitely be stronger mentally after this year,” said the 2023 runner-up.

“I felt like there was no chance of getting mentally stronger than I am right now. But things have shown me that there is actually a way to improve.”

“Looking back, I definitely think I should have just quit and separated myself from tennis, just taken a little break, recharged my batteries and then started again.

“I think I overdid it and carried myself too much. In the end, the injury hit me and on top of that, I was sick, I was injured, I had stomach problems at the French Open.

“I had big problems with my health and that’s why I think this break was urgently needed.

“It's not that I'm happy about being injured, but I'm glad I had this time off and this kind of time to clear my head and prepare for the hard court.”

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