As Aryna Sabalenka attempts to come to terms with the passing of her boyfriend, Konstantin Koltsov at the age of just 42, the media questioning players about this has left tennis fans uncomfortable and slamming their role in not just leaving the topic alone.
Sabalenka will play at the Miami Open over the next week despite Koltsov who was with her at the time committing ‘apparent suicide’ according to the Miami-Dade Police Department. But Caroline Wozniacki and even her best friend, Paula Badosa who she plays in the next round were quizzed on the matter without naming Sabalenka in particular.
But tennis fans weren’t best pleased with the questions being asked at all. “Can they not be so intrusive?” one wrote. “I mean what do you expect the players to say about another player’s personal life and pain? It seems like these questions are just bait for grabbing headlines since the tragedy is a trending topic sadly,” another wrote.
While another said they even complained to the tournament about these questions being asked in the first place. “I wrote the Miami Open about this. It is appalling that they are allowing questions to other players about a personal matter of someone who has changed the sport AND who has decided to stay in the tournament, which will only benefit their bottom line. The LEAST they could do is give her (and those who know her) the space they all need.”