Aryna Sabalenka opens up on ‘intense’ month following tragic death of her ex-boyfriend Konstantin Koltsov after Madrid Open final loss to Iga Swiatek

• Sabalenka has been dealing with the aftermath of the sudden death of Koltsov
• She fell in a tiebreak to Swiatek on the clay courts of Madrid on Saturday
• DailyMail.com provides all the latest international sports news

World No. 2 women’s tennis player Aryna Sabalenka opened up on what she calls an ‘intense month’ following the death of her ex-boyfriend, Konstantin Koltsov.

Sabalenka was on the court at the Madrid Open final – where she fell in a tie break 5-7, 6-4, 6-7 (7-9).

‘Last month has been kind of intense for me and it feels like I haven’t been on stage forever. ‘I’m speechless right now,’ Sabalenka said after the loss.

‘Thank you so much for such an incredible tournament, thank you for the atmosphere, you guys make this place very special for me and I enjoy playing in front of you all.

‘I just tried to make this match as long as possible to enjoy this beautiful court and atmosphere.’

‘I actually supposed to start from Iga – sorry I’m lost a little bit. Congrats on another great tournament. You guys are doing an incredible job, and hopefully next tournament it goes to me – we will swap!

‘Great play, great match. Wow, three hours it’s a long one. I hope we both recover for the next tournament

‘Thank you so much to my incredible team, Im pretty sure I have the best team with me, you help me through a lot, you always keep me going, thank you so much and I love you.’

Koltsov’s death has been ruled an ‘apparent suicide’ after he fell from the balcony of a five-star hotel in Miami.

The 42-year-oldwho shared three children with ex-wife Julija Mikhailova, was initially believed to have joined his girlfriend in the city as she prepared for the Miami Open.

Sabalenka later revealed their relationship had already come to an end when commenting on the ‘unthinkable tragedy’ of his death.

For support call Samaritans on 116123 in the UK or visit www.samaritans.org or www.thecalmzone.net/get-supportor call the Suicide & Crisis Lifeline on 988 in the US.