Aryna Sabalenka lifts lid on keeping personal life with her father away from social media
Aryna Sabalenka lost the biggest source of encouragement during her tennis career, her father, at the age of 21.
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Aryna Sabalenka and her dad (via X)
Losing a parent, at any age, is a very profound and heavy loss. However, as a daughter, seeing your dad die young is incredibly challenging beyond words. In an interview with Flaunt, World No. 1 Aryna Sabalenka, opened up about the loss of her father and how it impacted her.
The three time Grand Slam singles champion described her father as the biggest source of encouragement during her tennis career, something she has spoken about at length in Netflix’s tennis documentary series ‘Break Point’. Sabalenka’s father Sergey Sabalenka, a successful ice hockey player passed away unexpectedly in 2019 from meningitis.
I’m really open. But I have to say, when I lost my dad, from time to time, I would go to the church and put a candle for his memory and the memory of my grandfather. It’s something you never show on social media. I’m not gonna be the one in the church filming.
Aryna Sabalenka via Flaunt
Aryna Sabalenka lost her biggest source of encouragement for the sport when she was only 21 years old, trying to make her mark in the world of tennis. In the years following her father’s passing, the Belarusian’s own gameplay took a turn. She would hit serving error after serving error, handing the point over to her opponent, with a boatload of double faults.
She described that she didn’t know what happened with her mental health, but there was a year when she couldn’t serve. Sabalenka added that in tennis, if one double faults for the whole match, one cannot get to the level she wanted to be at—win a Grand Slam.
Aryna Sabalenka wishes to be a great example for her younger sister
Eventually, after hours and hours practicing and consulting a psychologist, Sabalenka realized that the problem wasn’t internal but biomechanical—a bad reaction to outside forces, where the pressure goes too far, too hard. She works with a biomechanical coach to this day.
While Sabalenka credits her father with her drive to never give up, she speaks most fondly of his magnetism and cheer. She recalled a moment from when she was seven or nine, saying that her family had a party in the house, and she looked up at her father, and he was so funny and so happy.
Aryna wishes to be a great example for her sister Tonechka who is 11 years younger than her. She wants her sister to see a good example in her just like she saw in her father. Speaking about her sister who is now 15, Aryna stated that she would never judge her for anything.
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Lakshya Chopra
(2616 Articles Published)