Aryna Sabalenka admits she was shattered after "unexpectedly" losing her father in 2019 and reveals she often cried alonebecause she knew that her mother already felt bad enough.
In 2019, when Sabalenka was just 21, her father Sergey passed away at the age of 43. While nothing was ever officially confirmed, some reports indicated that he died unexpectedly of meningitis.
Over the years, Sabalenka spoke numerous times about her late father and always made sure to remember him after some of her biggest accomplishments. Last Saturday, the Belarusian tennis star lifted her fourth Grand Slam title at the US Open. And during her appearance on Jay Shetty's podcast, she once again paid tribute to her late father.
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I hope Im not going to start crying, but it was unexpected. It just happened. It was tough because I was so close to him. We had similar personalities and really understood each other. He always knew what to say when I was struggling. I could just call him and hed say a couple of things that made everything clear," the 27-year-old admitted when reflecting on losing her father early.
Sabalenka: I cried a lot when no one saw me
During the toughest period of her life, Sabalenka figured out that completely dedicating herself to tennis activities would help her distract herself and probably feel better. But after all of her work was finished, she would battle negative thoughts.
It was really tough for her to lose her husband at such a young age, so I had to be strong and not show my emotions. But I cried a lot when no one saw me. The best way for me to cope was to go on court and train. During practice, I could finally stop thinking about everything. The moment it ended, the memories would come back and Id cry again. But practice gave me space to breathe," the world No. 1 explained.
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Sabalenka promised her father she would be a multiple Grand Slam champion by 25 and she fulfilled that promise.
