Aryna Sabalenka was dating someone else when she met Georgios Frangulis at a business meeting
When Aryna Sabalenka steps onto centre court for the Australian Open this week, the eyes of the world will be upon her.
None more so than her boyfriend of almost two years, Georgios Franguli, who recently found himself at the centre of headlines when the world #1 women's tennis player hinted she was hoping an engagement might be around the corner.
Read on to learn more about the couple and how Franguli helped the Belarus-born tennis player overcome the tragic death of her former boyfriend.
Sabalenka was born in Minsk, Belarus, on May 5, 1998, to mother Yulia and dad, Sergey, who was an ice hockey player. She also has a younger sister, Tonechka.
Her father died suddenly in 2019 at the age of just 43 after falling ill with meningitis.
Sabalenka reportedly started playing tennis at six after her father drove past a tennis court and decided to stop.
"He took me to the courts. I liked it and enjoyed it, and that's how it was. That's how it started," she once said.
Sabalenka made her Austalian Open debut in 2017.
A heartbreaking loss
In 2021, Sabalenka began dating fellow Belarusian professional ice hockey player Konstantin Koltsov, who was 17 years her senior.
They went Instagram official in a post on her account that June, with the tennis star writing, "It's good when there is someone who is able to understand my madness".
She again took to social media to celebrate his 42nd birthday in April 2023, and included a slideshow of photos and videos of the pair together.
Over the next few years, she would also share photos of their overseas travels and occasional photos of his three children from a previous marriage.
On March 18, 2024, his former club announced Koltsov had died by apparent suicide, after falling from the balcony of a luxury resort in Florida.
Days later, Sabalenka revealed she and Koltsov were not together at the time of his death, although she did not say when they broke up.
Instead, she took to Instagram to describe his death as an "unthinkable tragedy".
"While we're no longer together, my heart is broken," she wrote, adding, "Please respect my privacy and his family's privacy during this difficult time".
New love
In 2024, news broke that Sabalenka was dating Georgios Frangulisa, the Brazilian entrepreneur, and founder and chief executive of the global health food brand Oakberry, which is best known for its açaí products.
The two reportedly first met in early January 2024 on a professional basis when she became a brand ambassador for Oakberry.
Sabalenka has acknowledged she was still in a relationship with Koltsov at the time.
she told The Guardian last year, "We signed the contract, then we got to know each other. Somehow, we ended up being together."
It has been reported that following Koltsov's death, Frangulis was a shoulder to cry on before the relationship turned romantic.
Just one month after Koltsov's death, Frangulis was pictured in the stands cheering Sabalenka on at the Madrid Open.
He was also in the stands at the Cincinnati Masters and the US Open.
Then in July of that year, the two went Instagram-official when Frangulis posted photos of the pair, including one of them kissing.
"I'm in love with the Queen of NY," he wrote, in reference to her US Open win.
That same month, Sabalenka referred to Frangulisa as the love of her life in a comment on one of his posts.
Sabalenka and Frangulis share a kiss after she won the 2025 US Open Women's Singles Final.
Sabalenka marked his birthday on Instagram that September, writing, "Happy birthday meu amor, I'm so lucky to have you by my side.
"Your support is priceless."
In June 2025, Sabalenka told Us Weekly in June 2025, she relied on Frangulisa.
"His support means so much to me," she said.
"Being on the road and having him support me, to make me laugh and to be able to work out together, makes life on the road feel more like home."
Sabalenka on the court at the 2026 Brisbane Open.
When she won her second back-to-back US Open title in September 2025, they sealed the win with yet another courtside kiss.
However, it hasn't been smooth sailing for the couple, with the Daily Mail reporting in 2025 that Frangulisa was still married to his wife of eight years, Beh Armentano.
The Daily Mail said when a fan asked Armentano if Sabalenka had 'disrupted her marriage', she reportedly replied: "I am married to Georgios but I will ask for a divorce. They've been having an affair since California".
More recently, Sabalenka seems to have marriage on her mind, with not one, but two hints that she wants Frangulisa to pop the question.
Last week, the athlete joked she wants to call her boyfriend something else soon.
After defeating Ukraine's Marta Kostyuk on January 11 to win the Brisbane Open, she gave a shoutout to Frangulisa.
"Thank you to my boyfriend... hopefully soon I can call you something else," she quipped, as the cameras showed him laughing nervously in the stands.
It was the second time she had mentioned marriage.
In August 2025, after a couple in the stands got engaged during a US Open match she was playing in, she said afterwards that she had "looked at my boyfriend" for his reaction, before adding, "No pressure".
If they do get engaged, at least they won't have to worry about money.
Sabalenka is worth about $22 million.
Frangulis, 37, has a reported net worth of $110 million, eclipsing his girlfriend, who is currently worth about $22 million.
However, at just 27, she has plenty of time to increase her earnings.
She also has friends in the tennis world to rely on. Sabalenka is friends with Serbian tennis player Novak Djokovic and his wife Jelena, with the two even pictured on double dates together.
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