Aryna Sabalenka’s father, Sergey Sabalenka, tragically passed away unexpectedly in November 2019 at the age of 43 due to meningitis. She recently shared a heartfelt message in remembrance of him on the anniversary of his death.
Aryna Sabalena Remembers Her Father Sergey on His Death Anniversary
Sabalenka was born to Sergey and Yulia in 1998. Sergey was a Belarusian ice hockey player who introduced the World No. 1 to tennis.
This year, to honor her father on his death anniversary, Sabalenka took to social media and shared a video of her father, Sergey, training in the gym. In her post, she expressed that it has been six years since she has been living without him.
“6 years without you dad…” Sabalenka captioned his Instagram story.
On the tennis side of things, Sabalenka concluded her 2025 season after finishing as the runner-up to Elena Rybakina at the WTA Finals. She also won four titles this year: the Brisbane International, the Miami Open, the Madrid Open, and the US Open.
Aryna Sabalenka About Her Father Sergey’s Death: ‘It Was Something Unexpected’
Speaking about her father, Sergey, after his passing, Sabalenka described his death as “unexpected” since he was only 43 years old. She shared that it became mentally “tough” for her to practice and leave her family behind to compete. She mentioned that she left her family to play because it was necessary for her career.
“It was something unexpected, he was young, he was 43, and I didn’t want to say that but I think people should know. It was tough to practice mentally. I couldn’t leave, because I knew it was a tough situation with my family and I couldn’t leave them but somehow I needed to go. I wasn’t excited about the matches, I just went there because I have to. My dad wanted me to be No. 1,” Sabalenka said.
The World No. 1 mentioned that after Sergey’s death, she started going to church from time to time to light candles for him and her grandfather in their memory.
“When I lost my dad, from time to time, I would go to the church and put a candle for his memory and the memory of my grandfather. It’s something you never show on social media. I’m not gonna be the one in the church filming,” she said.
Looking ahead, Sabalenka is set to kick off her 2026 season at the Brisbane International, which will take place from January 4 to January 11, 2026, on outdoor hard courts at the Queensland Tennis Centre in Brisbane, Australia. She will enter the WTA 500 hard-court tournament as the defending champion, having won the title in 2025 by defeating qualifier Polina Kudermetova in the final.