Aryna Sabalenka hopes fans will draw inspiration from how she dealt with her father’s death: "Probably my story will help someone in tough situation"

Aryna Sabalenka has expressed hope that fans will draw inspiration from her life on how to deal with tough situations.

Sabalenka's father Sergey, who was an ice hockey player, died suddenly of meningitis in November 2019 at the age of 43. She subsequently struggled for form and motivation, before digging deep to find the resolve to give her best on the WTA tour.

While she has never spoken at length publicly about the tragedy, she opened up in the latest season of Netflix's docuseries Break Point, where she detailed her desire to win a Grand Slam for her father.

"He was aggressive, like me. A lot of expectations. He thought I would win [a Grand Slam] before 25. So this is the last chance," she said on the show.

After her title win at the 2023 Australian Open, there is a telephonic conversation with her mother, Yulia, on the phone, where she is told that her father would be proud of her win.

Later, while celebrating her triumph, she said that seeing her father's surname on the Daphne Akhurst Memorial Cup meant a lot to her.

"I really wanted to call him and see what he would say. Right now, his surname is on that trophy, which means a lot," she added.

At a recent press conference in Melbourne, Aryna Sabalenka said that she opened up about her father's death on the Netflix series as she wanted her fans to know what happened and how she felt. She also hoped that it would help anyone struggling with something similar to find motivation and come out strong.

"I just feel super connected with my, I don't know, fans. I wanted to open up for them and just to hear the story. I felt like probably my story will motivate someone or will help someone in tough situation to find the way through. Like, when you lose somebody, it's really tough - especially someone like your father, for example," she said.

"I know that some people are struggling with the same situation. I just felt like it's tough, but you can also find kind of like motivation to keep going in life, keep doing your thing just for the memory of somebody. I really hope that my story will help somebody else in this situation to keep going and keep doing their best," she added.

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Aryna Sabalenka cruises into the 2024 Australian Open quarterfinals

Aryna Sabalenka at the 2024 Australian Open.

In her title defense at the 2024 Australian Open, Aryna Sabalenka has barely put a foot wrong.

After commanding wins against Ella Seidel, Brenda Fruhvirtova and Lesia Tsurenko, she took on Amanda Anisimova in the fourth round at Melbourne Park. She beat the American 6-3, 6-2 on Sunday, January 21, to reach the quarterfinals.

The Belarusian, who has conceded just 11 games so far in Melbourne, takes on Barbora Krejcikova for a place in the semifinals.