MIAMI – Former Belarusian hockey player Konstantin Koltsov, who worked as a coach in the KHL, and was the boyfriend of Aryna Sabalenka, the world’s number 2 tennis player, died this Tuesday in Miami at the age of 42.
Miami-Dade Police Detective Argemis Colomé confirmed Koltsov’s death in a message sent to The Associated Press. The police indicated that it would have been an apparent suicide. No foul play is suspected.
Koltsov was dating Sabalenka, the world number two in women’s tennis.
He was scheduled to compete in the Miami Open, whose main draw activity began on Tuesday. Messages sent to Sabalenka’s publicist and tournament organizers did not receive an immediate response.
Sabalenka, 25, the reigning two-time Australian Open champion, is also from Belarus. She appeared in the Netflix series “Break Point”, referring with dismay to the death of her father when he had just turned 40.
Koltsov had been the assistant coach of the Salavat Yulaev Ufa team for the last two seasons. He was also an assistant coach for the Belarus national team.
The national team coach, Dmitry Baskov, said that Koltsov’s death is “an irreparable loss.”
“Konstantin was one of the undisputed leaders of our team, a coach with modern ideas, a brilliant player,” Baskov said.
Koltsov played 144 games in the NHL with the Pittsburgh Penguins between 2003-06 after being selected in the first round of the 1999 draft, and scored 12 goals and contributed 26 assists. The Penguins offered their condolences to Koltsov’s family and friends.
Koltsov played mostly in the Russian Super League, which became the KHL.
2024-03-20 03:25:54
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