Heartbreaking update from ex-girlfriend of Konstantin Koltsov

The hockey world was thrust into mourning earlier this year with the shocking death of former Pittsburgh Penguins player Konstantin Koltsov, who passed away after allegedly jumping from a hotel balcony in Florida in March; his death was ruled an apparent suicide. 

Naturally, his passing had a profound effect on his former girlfriend Aryna Sabalenka, a tennis star who was unable to participate in Wimbledon and the Paris 2024 Olympics thanks to an injury. But just as the death of her father in 2019 affected her, continuing to press on after Koltsov's passing was difficult despite the fact they were no longer together in a relationship. 

“Once, I lost my father and tennis helped me to go through that tough loss,” she said. “So at that moment [of Koltsov’s death] I thought I had to just keep going, keep playing, keep doing my thing to separate my personal life from my career life.

“But at the end I would say I was struggling a lot healthwise because I didn’t stop. It was really emotional and really stressful, and kind of damaged my mental health at that point.

“Probably, looking back right now, I would say that a better decision would have been to step back, reset and recharge, and start everything over again. But I did what I did. At the end I paid for my decision, but I’m really glad that I have tennis in my life and it’s really helped me go through whatever and get stronger.”

Koltsov was selected 18th overall by the Penguins in the 1999 NHL Entry Draft and would later play three seasons for the franchise from 2002 to 2006. 

He also represented his country on the international stage, suiting up for the Belarusian national team at the 2002 and 2010 Winter Olympics and at nine World Championships.

Ultimately, he appeared in a total of 144 NHL games, scoring 12 goals with 26 assists. He also played several seasons in the KHL, scoring 43 goals with 73 assists in 375 games. 

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