Aryna Sabalenka is a former World No. 1 according to WTA rankings in both singles and doubles. She is a professional from Belarus and is still only 25 years old.
However, one of the biggest milestone in her professional career happened when she won the Australian Open in 2024 when she won against China’s Qinwen Zheng in straight sets.
Now you might think why was this so special given she had won the Australian Open in 2023 itself? Well, the reason goes back to a promise she made to her father Sergey Sabalenka who passed away at the age of only 43 in November of 2019.
Aryna Sabalenka was featured in the Netflix documentary Break Point. There she revealed the promise she had made to her father: to win at least two grand slam titles before she was 25.
The Belarusian pro had this to say in the final episode of the first season of BreakPoint, “I lost my father four years ago. We had one dream, that before 25 I will win a couple of grand slams,”
After winning the Australian Open for the second time, Aryna Sabalenka put her hands to her head and then blew a kiss to the heavens. The symbolism was not lost on any of us.
Aryna Sabalenka’s Father
Sergey Sabalenka was an ice hockey player until he was 19 and then he sadly couldn’t continue due to a car accident.
As mentioned earlier, unfortunately, Sergey passed away in 2019 at the age of 43 with meningitis.
Aryna Sabalenka’s Mother
Not much is known about Yulia Sabalenka apart from the fact that just like Sergey, she is Aryna Sabalenka’s biggest supporter on and off the tennis field.
However Yulia Sabalenka has a funny bone in her as Aryna shared this story after winning her second Australian Open, “My mom has them, and they are side by side, like she called them twins. She said, ‘Like we need to kind of play have like different types of them, like it looks boring when you have like just two of the same ones, like can you just work on the other slams?'”
“I’m like, ‘Mom, well, what is your request? You could have just appreciated these two; it wasn’t easy to get.'”
Role of Aryna Sabalenka’s Parents
Having listened to the press conferences of Aryna Sabalenka, it’s clear how much she looks up to her parents and what a support system they are. Her father Sergey’s passing at the time had a huge impact on her at the time but it’s great news for all of us that she has been able to channel his memories in such a positive way.
