Aryna Sabalenka appeared to be a bit lost at the start of her Madrid Open runner-up speech as the Belarusian tennis star described the last month as “intense” following a tragic death of her ex-boyfriend and a couple of not-so-great results.
After successfully defending her Australian Open, Sabalenka went just 4-4 in her next four tournaments. Off the court, Sabalenka also wasn’t doing great as she was hit by a major tragedy after her ex-boyfriend Konstantin Koltsov died by apparent suicide in Miami in March.
But in Madrid, Sabalenka managed to turn the page around and clinch a couple of really strong wins as her run to the final included victories over Elena Rybakina and Danielle Collins. In the Madrid final, Sabalenka was inches away from successfully defending her title but Iga Swiatek won a nail-bitter 7-5 4-6 7-6 (7) after saving three match points in three hours and 11 minutes of play.
“Last month has been kind of intense for me and it feels like I haven’t been on stage forever. I’m speechless right now,” Sabalenka said at the start of her runner-up speech.
“Thank you so much for such an incredible tournament, thank you for the atmosphere, you guys make this place very special for me and I enjoy playing in front of you all. I just tried to make this…
