Aryna Sabalenka Becomes the ‘Queen of New York’ as Boyfriend Georgios Frangulis Hypes the Newly Crowned US Open Champion.

There was a tough period where I was really happy to have him by my side, always cheering me up,” gushed Aryna Sabalenka about her boyfriend, Georgios Frangulis. It was the same tale after the 26-year-old picked up her maiden US Open and third major title as her man cheered loudly from the stands, boosting her morale on the big stage!

The couple started dating in early 2024, though it’s unclear how they met. Frangulis, who hails from San Paolo in Brazil, is reportedly a motorsports athlete, majorly competing in the Porsche GT3 Cup. But that’s not all. He was also preparing to be a lawyer before he took a detour toward entrepreneurship. In 2016, the Brazilian founded Oakberry—a healthy fast food brand specializing in açaí products—raising $63 million in funding last year. Did you know sponsor the Haas F1 team? Notably, the businessman also featured in Forbes Brazil last year.

On Sunday, September 8, the Belarusian superstar earned redemption for her heartbreaking loss in last year’s finals to Coco Gauff (2-6, 6-3, 6-2). Riding on a power-packed game, Sabalenka overpowered Jessica Pegula in the summit clash, concluding the captivating battle 7-5, 7-5, and lifting the US Open title (her second Major of the season). Crowned the champion and cashing in her whopping $3.6 million paycheck, the World No. 2 has become the “Queen of New York.” Or at least, that’s what her lover expressed!

Taking to social media, the motorsports star posted a string of photos, posing with Sabalenka, her champion’s cup, and the moments that led to her triumph. The proud entrepreneur professed his love for her by captioning an adorable message, “I’m in love with the Queen of NY.” For those unaware, the 26-year-old WTA sensation first went public about her romance with Frangulis in May. However, a lot had happened before.

And if not for Frangulis, Sabalenka would’ve been in a completely different headspace—not a good one.

Frangulis has been a major support system for the star after her ex-boyfriend, Konstantin Koltsov, a former Belarusian ice hockey player died of an apparent suicide in March 2024. He was 42 at the time.

The Belarusian, who publicly acknowledged their relationship in June 2021 but were reportedly broken up at the time of his death, was performing at the Miami Open when she was “heartbroken”. Similar to what she did after her father’s death, Sergey, in 2019, Sabalenka threw herself into work to forget the pain. Later, she tole ‘The Independent’ in August, “Looking back, I think that I should have just stopped and just separated myself from tennis, just have a little break, recharge and start things over again.” Thankfully, the Belarusian had Frangulis’ support while she endured such a “difficult year”.

Georgios was her the one keeping her sane at the time. “There was a really tough period where I was really happy to have him by my side, always cheering me up, always making sure that we are doing some fun stuff,” she said of her boyfriend.

It was an emotional rollercoaster of a year, but the pieces eventually fell into place for the Belarusian. Well, almost. That was until the 26-year-old unknowingly made a terrible mistake on the US Open podium.