"Really shook the tennis world": Aryna Sabalenka dealing with grief under public glare 'unfathomable' to Andrea Petkovic

Aryna Sabalenka cut a forlorn figure as expected in winning through her opener at the Miami Open as she defeated her best friend, Paula Badosa. The only emotion she showed was at the end of the match hugging the Spaniard and also some laughing and joking at times albeit days after the passing of her ex-boyfriend Konstantin Koltsov who passed in an apparent suicide.

Andrea Petkovic writing on her Substack newsletter said that while she has dealt with private circumstances in the past which have affected her, she finds it 'unfathomable' that Sabalenka has to go through this under a microscope and sent her best wishes as a result.

Many expected Sabalenka to withdraw from the Miami Open after the sudden passing on Monday. But also she was back playing again soon after her father passed so likely uses it as a coping mechanism. But with this story soon becoming worldwide news, it was very much magnified with the World Number Two refusing to do any press for the foreseeable with a simple statement on social media and that being the only caveat to her playing this week was the lack of speaking to media.

"The terrible news about Aryna Sabalenka’s ex-partner have really shook the tennis world and me with it. I have had to play big matches with private worries on my mind but they were mostly that: private. Aryna having to deal with the grief and everyone knowing about it is unfathomable to me," Petkovic wrote.

"It partly inspired this text just to remind everyone (myself included who sits in a booth and calls tennis matches for a living): it’s not always known what is going on behind the scenes. In this case it is and my heart breaks for Aryna and Konstantin’s family and friends," she added.