Aryna Sabalenka opens up about boyfriend’s support

Tennis star Aryna Sabalenka has spoken out about her boyfriend’s support ahead of her US Open semifinal.
Sabalenka, 26, says boyfriend Georgios Franguilis is “always by her side.”
“There was a really tough period where I was really happy to have him by my side, always cheering me up, always making sure that we are doing some fun stuff,” the Australian Open winner tells PEOPLE.
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“But I make sure I kind of forget about tennis and focus on the good things and enjoy my life. Even when things are going wrong in my career,” the Belarus champion continued.
“So yeah, he was my biggest support and yeah, really happy to have him by my side.”
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It has been a difficult year for Sabalenka. Her ex-boyfriend Konstantin Kolstov died in March and a shoulder injury forced her to pull out of Wimbledon. Then she fell ill ahead of her quarterfinals loss at the French Open.
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The tennis star made the difficult choice to miss the Paris Olympics to prioritise her health and won her next tournament, the Cincinnati Open.
Sabalenka faces Zheng Qinwen in the semifinal of the US Open on Thursday, saying she feels “strong mentally.”
“I’m really happy that I was able to go through everything with a strong mentality and still compete on my highest level, I think,” she said.
“This is something me and my team should be proud of.”
Sabalenka lost the US Open women’s singles final in 2023 but ended the year as the new world No. 1.
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“Becoming a world No. 1, it’s a huge improvement and achievement,” Sabalenka told USOpen.com.
“I’m really proud of myself that all those years I have been working so hard helped me to become World No. 1.
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