How Aryna Sabalenka’s boyfriend helps her get through difficult times

Tennis star Aryna Sabalenka has spoken about her boyfriend’s support in front of her US Open semifinals.

Sabalenka, 26, says her boyfriend Georgios Franguilis is “always by her side.”

“There was a really hard time I was really happy to have him by my side. He always cheered me up and made sure we did some fun things,” the Australian Open winner tells PEOPLE.

READ MORE: Manager dies on the return flight from the tour at the singer’s side

“But I make sure that I somehow forget about tennis and concentrate on the good things and enjoy my life. Even if something goes wrong in my career,” the Belarusian champion continued.

“So yes, he was my biggest support and yes, I’m really happy to have him by my side.”

READ MORE: Alessandro Ossola proposes to his girlfriend after tragic loss

It’s been a difficult year for Sabalenka. Her ex-boyfriend Konstantin Kolstov died in March and a shoulder injury forced her to withdraw from Wimbledon. Then she fell ill before her quarterfinal loss at the French Open.

For a daily dose of 9honey, Subscribe to our newsletter here.

The tennis star made the difficult decision to skip the Paris Olympics for health reasons and won her next tournament, the Cincinnati Open.

Sabalenka will face Zheng Qinwen in the US Open semifinals on Thursday and says she feels “mentally strong.”

“I’m really happy that I was able to get through everything with a strong mentality and still compete at my highest level, I think,” she said.

The most popular tennis-style baby names

“My team and I can be proud of that.”

Sabalenka lost the women’s singles final of the 2023 US Open, but finished the year as the new world number 1.

READ MORE: We tested the Sleeping Duck mattress in a box

“Becoming No. 1 in the world is a huge improvement and achievement,” Sabalenka told USOpen.com.

“I am really proud of myself and that all these years of hard work have helped me become number 1 in the world.

FOLLOW US HERE ON WHATSAPP: Stay updated with the latest celebrity, lifestyle and opinion news through our WhatsApp channel. No comments, no algorithm and no one can see your private data.