"Dad I miss you so much" - Aryna Sabalenka gets nostalgic while looking at childhood pictures, hints at something 'interesting' coming soon
2023 Australian Open winner Aryna Sabalenka recently took a trip to nostalgia after surfing through her childhood pictures. The Belarusian also hinted at something interesting coming up soon.
Sabalenka, 24, won her maiden Grand Slam singles title at the Melbourne Major. However, at the recently concluded Dubai Tennis Championships, the Belarusian was knocked out of the tournament in the quarterfinals. Playing against eventual winner Barbora Krejcikova, the World No. 2 lost 6-0, 6-7(2), 1-6, despite hitting 10 aces, as she failed to recreate her Australian Open magic.
Sabalenka turned to social media to share a collage of all the childhood pictures the Grand Slam winner came across. Among the adorable pictures was a snapshot of a young Sabalenka holding his father's hand.
The former Wimbledon semifinalist's father, Sergey Sabalenka, was a hockey player and the one who introduced the player to tennis. Unfortunately, in 2019, Sergey breathed his last at the age of just 43.
"Dad I miss you so much," Sabalenka wrote.
She also posted a family photo, followed by a baby Sabalenka quietly enjoying some time with her father.
"Little Aryna," she captioned.
A picture of Aryna with her mother, Yulia Sabalenka, was also added to the collage.
"Supermodel@julia_sabalenka," the World No. 2 captioned.
Aryna Sabalenka also hinted at 'something interesting' coming soon.
"Was needed to go through all this pics for something interesting coming soon," Sabalenka added.
Aryna Sabalenka dedicated her Australian Open win to her father
Winning the Australian Open was a huge achievement for Aryna Sabalenka. After clinching the coveted title, the crowned champion remembered her father and wondered if he would be proud of her or not.
"Dad, would you be proud of me? #missyou #myangel," she wrote on Instagram.
The Belarusian also spoke about how her father helped her become a tough person.
"I think my father made me a really tough person without actually knowing that," she added. "The way he was trying to motivate me, the way he was trying to raise me, the things he was telling me, the things he was fighting through, he was a really tough person. He was a great example in some ways for me," Sabalenka added.
The Dubai loss was Aryna Sabalenka's first loss of the 2023 season. The Belarusian had earlier won the Adelaide International 1 and the Australian Open.