A few days after mourning the death of her ex-boyfriend in a Miami hotel, the Belarusian Aryna Sabalenka debuted this Friday with a 6-4, 6-3 victory against the Spanish Paula Badosa at the Miami Open.
Sabalenka, Australian Open champion and world number two, needed one hour and 23 minutes to beat Badosa, number 80, who had reached the second round after eliminating Romanian Simona Halep.
The match was played six hours late compared to the initially scheduled time due to the heavy rain that fell in Miami.
Sabalenka competed after a very difficult week on a personal level, in which her ex-boyfriend, Konstatin Koltsov, was found dead on Tuesday in a Miami hotel.
“Konstantin’s death is an unthinkable tragedy and, even if we were no longer together, my heart is broken,” Sabalenka wrote in a message on her Instagram account last Wednesday.
“Please respect my privacy and that of my family at this difficult time,” added the Australian Open champion, who does not plan to participate in meetings with the press.
The Belarusian, who competed dressed in black and with a hat of the same color, debuted with a solid victory against Badosa, with whom she has a strong bond of friendship.
The two tennis players, who came into this duel with a 2-2 tie in the previous matches, exchanged a long and heartfelt hug at the end of the match.
The Spaniard, who was hampered by injuries in recent months and had a back problem, had made her debut in Miami with a victory against Halep. In that game she noticed some discomfort in her right leg and this Friday she jumped onto the court with a colorful bandage on her right thigh.
In the third round, scheduled this Saturday, Sabalenka will play against the Ukrainian Anhelina Khalinina.
