Aryna Sabalenka may be the woman to beat at this year's Wimbledon Championships but she has been through mightily hard times on and off the court. The pain of her serving issues, which have since been fixed, and her three Grand Slam near-misses pale in comparison to the two tragic losses she has experienced in recent years.

Sabalenka was born in the Belarusian capital of Minsk to a professional ice hockey player father who she credits for getting her into tennis. The 27-year-old has spoken glowingly about her dad, Sergey Sabalenka, and the impact he had on her growing up. And those comments make his sudden passing in 2019 - when he was 43 and she was 21 - even more tragic.

Before Sabalenka Sr. died of meningitis, he made a pact with his daughter about winning two Grand Slam titles before the age of 25. She later admitted that it weighed on her mind before opening her account with the Australian Open in 2023.

And she came agonisingly close to keeping the promise, with her second triumph in Melbourne coming only seven months after her 25th birthday. After that second win, Sabalenka said: "Of course, he's my biggest motivation.

"He's been everything for me. I just feel that he's always with me. I'm very thankful for everything he did for me, and I think if it wasn't for him I wouldn't be here."

Sabalenka was dealt another agonising blow in 2024 when her ex-boyfriend, Konstantin Kolstov, died by suicide. Kolstov was also a Belarusian ice hockey player and there was a sizable age gap between himself and the tennis star.

When he passed after jumping off a balcony at 42 years old, he was only one year younger than Sabalenka's father at the time of his death. Although the pair were no longer an item at the time of the event, Sabalenka insisted it still hit her hard.

"While we were no longer together, my heart is broken," she said. "Please respect my privacy and his family's privacy during this difficult time."

Sabalenka raised eyebrows by opting to keep playing almost immediately after the news sent shockwaves through the tennis world. Later, she admitted to regretting that call and wishing she took time out to recover.

Sabalenka explained: "Looking back right now, I would say that a better decision would have been to step back, reset and recharge, and start everything over again. But I did what I did. At the end I paid for my decision, but I'm really glad that I have tennis in my life and it's really helped me go through whatever and get stronger."