Sabalenka and coach Tursunov have weird week at the US Open

By Niko Vercelletto Sep 05, 2019
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Sabalenka and coach Tursunov have weird week at the US Open

ByNiko Vercelletto

Published Sep 05, 2019

It's been a wild couple of years for players and coaches. Perhaps the biggest shock of the season came when Naomi Osaka, after winning back-to-back Grand Slam titles, ended things with her coach Sascha Bajin.

Now, Aryna Sabalenka and her coach Dmitry Tursunov have picked up the mantle for most dramatic duo. The two have a rocky situation going on, where they parted ways and then seemingly began working together again in the span of a few days.

Last Wednesday, the 21-year-old said she had "restored trust" with Tursunov, only for the partnership to make a complete turnaround when Tursunov announced their split just two days later. Sabalenka confirmed the news on Saturday.

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"It wasn’t really a surprise to me," she said on Saturday. "I knew it was going to happen. I was trying to do everything to make sure it wasn’t going to happen. But, it happened, and we just need a little break."

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In singles, Sabalenka was defeated in the second round by Yulia Putintseva, but the Belarusian is still in contention for the doubles title.

After the sudden break-up, the 36-year-old Tursunov was on hand for her quarterfinal doubles win on Tuesday, and Sabalenka took to social media on Wednesday to post a lengthy, seemingly very private, message to him.

"I just wanna say I don’t know what’s happening right now," Sabalenka wrote. "Seems like we’re  crazy...one day everything is [OK] another day we both want to kill each other!"

She goes on to make a public apology to the Russian.

"Just wanted to say it. I know sounds weird..like we are couple and been together for 30 years, but I think relationships between player and coach it’s something similar to this..." she said. "I don’t know probably he’ll kill me after he read this....before you kill me just wanna to say sorry!"

It sounds like a lot has been happening behind closed doors, and the two still have a lot to sort out, but it also sounds like the saga is not over.

Sabalenka and Mertens will face Caroline Dolehide and Vania King for a place in the US Open final.