Konstantin Koltsov’s death ruled apparent suicide by police

MIAMI — The death of Konstantin Koltsov, a Belarusian former professional hockey player and boyfriend of professional tennis player Aryna Sabalenka, has been ruled an apparent suicide, Miami-Dade police said Tuesday. Koltsov was 42 years old.

Police said in a statement sent to Reuters that Bal Harbor police and firefighters responded to a call at 12:39 a.m. Monday to the St. Regis Bal Harbor Resort regarding reports of a man jumping from a balcony.

“No foul play is suspected,” Miami-Dade police said in a statement, adding that the homicide bureau had taken over the investigation.

Koltsov was a forward with the Belarus national team at the 2002 and 2010 Olympics and played in 144 games over three seasons with the NHL's Pittsburgh Penguins from 2002 to 2006. The 1999 first-round pick had 12 goals and 26 assists with the Penguins. .

His death was confirmed by Russian club Salavat Yulaev Ufa, where he was an assistant coach for the past two seasons. He also served as a staff assistant for the men's national team.

“Konstantin was one of the undisputed leaders of our team, a talented and progressive coach, a brilliant player,” national team coach Dmitry Baskov said in a statement. “He was an example of hardiness, hard work, dedication and an idol for many Belarusian boys and his colleagues. It is hard and unfair that such people leave so early.”

Koltsov played most of his career in the Russian Superleague, which morphed into the KHL, finishing with Dynamo Minsk in 2015-16 and becoming a coach. Koltsov won the Gagarin Cup with Salavat Yulaev Ufa as a player in 2010–11.

“He was a strong and cheerful person, he was loved and respected by players, colleagues and fans,” the team said in a statement. “[Koltsov] is forever part of the history of our club.”

Sabalenka, the world's second-ranked tennis player and Australian Open champion, is in Miami for the Miami Open, a WTA women's event. She had not withdrawn from the event as of late Tuesday afternoon.

Messages sent to Sabalenka's publicist and tournament officials seeking comment were not immediately returned to The Associated Press.

Sabalenka practiced Tuesday wearing black. She has a first-round bye and is expected to face either Romanian wild card Simona Halep, who is returning from a doping ban, or Spaniard Paula Badosa on Friday.

There will be no press conference after his matches.

Reuters, Associated Press and ESPN's D'Arcy Maine contributed to this report.