Konstantin Koltsov, a former professional ice hockey player from Belarus and the partner of tennis player Aryna Sabalenka, has died at the age of 42, according to a statement from Russian club Salavat Yulaev.
Forward Koltsov represented Belarus at the Winter Olympics in 2002 and 2010 and also spent three seasons in the NHL with the Pittsburgh Penguins between 2003 and 2006.
He was working as a coach for Salavat Yulaev, with whom he spent some of his playing career and won the team’s first Russian championship title in 2008.
“It is with deep sorrow that we inform you that the coach of Salavat Yulaev, Konstantin Koltsov, passed away,” the club said in a statement on Tuesday.
“He was a strong and cheerful person, he was loved and respected by players, colleagues, fans. Konstantin Evgenievich forever written himself in the history of our club.”
No cause of Koltsov’s death has been announced.
In a statement on X, formerly known as Twitter, the Pittsburgh Penguins offered “their deepest condolences to the family and friends” of Koltsov, who played 144 games for the NHL franchise.
Koltsov regularly traveled to tennis tournaments around the world with Sabalenka, who won her second grand slam title at the Australian Open earlier this year.
In an Instagram post in 2022, Sabalenka described her partner as “the best man in the world” and said that he “make[s] me happy every day.” According to People, the pair have been linked together since June 2021.
The world No. 2 lost in the fourth round of Indian Wells in California last week and is due to compete in the upcoming Miami Open later this week.
CNN’s Sergey Gudkov contributed to reporting.