Aryna Sabalenka defeated Paula Badosa in straight sets at the Miami Open days after her former boyfriend Konstantin Koltsov passed away.
Following Koltsov’s death at the age of 42 on Monday in Miami, which authorities characterized as an apparent suicide, Sabalenka made her way back to the tennis court.
After a few painful days following Koltsov’s death, Sabalenka revealed that her heart was broken but she was able to display amazing calm and composure to defeat close friend Badosa 6-4, 6-3.
Badosa claims that Sabalenka and herself are both resilient women who have experienced a great deal in life and can keep their feelings in check when playing tennis.
Badosa expressed her feelings about it and said: “Well, honestly, both of us are pretty strong mentally. We’re strong women. She proved it. I proved it. We knew how to disconnect in those two hours—one hour and a half of match. She played well. I played well for where I’m coming from. I think it was quite decent. That all comes from because we know we’ve been through a lot in our lives; we’re strong women, and we know how to separate that in that moment.”
After that, the reporter asked Badosa further: “Based on your friendship with her, were you surprised with her composure through all this? Do you think she can hold that throughout this whole tournament?”
Badosa replied: “No, I wasn’t surprised at all. As I said, she’s a very, very strong woman, with a strong personality. You can see it on the court. I know her off-court. It doesn’t surprise me at all. I knew she was going to play very well or like normal. I told her I wished her the best. Let’s see if she can go very deep in this tournament.”
Sabalenka in Miami, ranking, and results in 2024
Currently ranked no.2, Sabalenka has managed to achieve an overall 14-3 match record in 2024. The Belarussian is now competing in Miami where she ousted the world no.80 Paula Badosa Gibert 6-4 6-3.
Aryna Sabalenka will take on the world no.36 Anhelina Kalinina in the 3rd
round on Saturday at 8:30 pm on STADIUM. They have never competed against each other till now in top tournaments.The Belarussian clinched 1 title in 2024 at the Australian Open. The Belarussian was the runner-up in Brisbane (Brisbane International).
The Belarussian won 14 titles in her career: 10 on hard courts, 2 on clay courts and 2 on indoor courts. (See the list of her titles)
Paula Badosa in 2024
Now the world no.80, the Spaniard played her last match on the 22nd of March when she was overcome by world no.2 Aryna Sabalenka 6-4 6-3 in the 2nd round in Miami (draw).
Currently, during this season Badosa has managed to achieve a composed 5-6 win-loss record.
Aryna Sabalenka and Paula Badosa played each other 5 times. Their current head to head is 3-2 for Sabalenka. Previously, the last time they competed against each other, Aryna Sabalenka won 6-4 6-3 in the 2nd round in Miami (Miami Open) on the 22nd of March 2024.
In the video below you can watch the highlights.