Tennis World Rallies Around Aryna Sabalenka At Miami Open After Boyfriend's Death

Paula Badosa, a close-friend of Aryna Sabalenka's, said the match would be "uncomfortable".

World number two Aryna Sabalenka intends to play in the Miami Open this week, organisers said Tuesday, as fellow players offered their support following the death of her boyfriend in an apparent suicide. Sabalenka's partner, Belarusian former NHL ice hockey player Konstantin Koltsov, 42, died late Monday after jumping from the balcony of a room in an upmarket resort in Miami, police said. Two-time Grand Slam winner Sabalenka practiced at the Miami Open's Hard Rock Stadium venue early on Tuesday afternoon as organisers said she had not asked to withdraw and was "intending to play."

The 25-year-old from Minsk, who won the Australian Open in 2023 and retained her Melbourne title earlier this year, is due to face Spain's Paula Badosa in the second round.

Badosa, a close-friend of Sabalenka's, said the match would be "uncomfortable".

"Yesterday I spoke with her a lot of time. This morning the same. So I know what she's going through," she told a press conference.

"I know the entire situation, what is happening. That for me is a little bit shocking also to go through that because at the end she's my best friend and I don't want her to suffer. It's a very tough situation," she added.