Arina Sabalenka's season has long gone beyond being just a sports story. A US Open title, finals at the Australian Open and Roland Garros, a spell as world No. 1 and more than 15 million dollars in prize money – all this speaks of a player who lives in a mode of constant maximum intensity. But in parallel with this career rise, another important storyline has emerged in the Belarusian's life – her relationship with Georgios Frangulis, a man who is appearing more and more often in her player box and on her social media feed and seems to occupy no less space in her everyday reality than practices and matches.
A Record-Breaking Season and the Man Who Is Always There
The past year for Arina has been a series of big finals and one of the most consistent runs on tour. She not only won the US Open but also reached the championship matches at the Australian Open and Roland Garros, holding the world No. 1 position for a long time.
Against such a packed schedule, her personal life could easily have faded into the background, but everything turned out the opposite way: in the off-season Sabalenka gave herself an emotional reset – first the Maldives, then Brazil. And on both trips Georgios Frangulis was by her side – not just a vacation companion, but a man with whom Arina is now believed to be in a serious relationship.
Georgios Frangulis: A Greek from Brazil, Businessman and Former Racing Driver
Frangulis is a 37-year-old entrepreneur with a very mixed but vivid biography. He was born and raised in Brazil in a Greek family: his grandfather Georgios once emigrated there from Thessaloniki. Frangulis himself emphasizes that Greek values and traditions have always reigned in their home, and trips to Mykonos with Arina are not just a beach holiday but a return to his roots.
By education Georgios is a lawyer, but a classic legal career never worked out for him – he never obtained a license. Instead, he threw himself into motorsport, raced in the Porsche GT3 Cup Challenge series and for a time associated himself much more with the track than with an office.
From Motorsport to the Global Oakberry Brand
The mid-2010s became a turning point. In 2014 Frangulis moved to the United States, and two years later he launched a project that made him well known in the business community. He founded Oakberry, a chain specializing in healthy drinks and bowls made from Brazilian açaí berries.
Today Oakberry is no longer a local start-up, but an international brand with more than 700 locations in more than 40 countries around the world. In 2023 the company attracted about 67 million dollars in investment, which cemented its status as one of the flagships of "healthy fast food".
In an interview with Forbes Brazil, Georgios recalled the start of this journey as a whirlwind of events: on 1 October 2016 he married Isabella Amentano and spent his last money on the wedding bar, on 16 October he underwent surgery to remove thyroid cancer, and already on 6 December he opened the first Oakberry store in São Paulo. In his words, it felt like a "divine revelation" at a moment when life seemed as unstable as possible.
The Brand That Brought Them Together
It was Oakberry that became the bridge between Frangulis and Sabalenka. In January 2024 Arina, as the world No. 1, signed a contract and became the brand's global ambassador. At first it looked like a standard commercial partnership: photo shoots, joint events, social media posts.
But quite quickly it became clear that something more had arisen between them. Arina and Georgios were first spotted together in April 2024 – just a month after the tragic death of Arina's ex-boyfriend, Belarusian hockey player Konstantin Koltsov. Later Sabalenka admitted that it was one of the most difficult periods of her life, and it was Frangulis who was there for her, supporting her, distracting her and trying to bring her smile back.
US Open, the Player Box and Jokes with Britney Spears Quotes
At the triumphant US Open 2024 for Arina, Georgios was already sitting in her player box, reacting to every rally like a long-time member of the team. After the final he posted an almost direct quote from a Britney Spears song: "Oops... She Did It Again", emphasizing that for him her victories are not a surprise but a natural result of her work.
From that moment on Frangulis and Sabalenka stopped hiding their relationship. They often appear together at tournaments, and on social media they show both the "battle version" – flights, practices, traveling around the world – and more personal moments: vacations, walks, playful back-and-forth in the comments.
Travels, Shared Schedule and Dreams of a Family
The tennis player admits that it is important for her to feel her partner physically next to her, not only virtually. In one of Aleksandr Sokolovskiy's podcasts, Arina spoke candidly: she no longer believes in long-distance relationships and is not ready to build her personal life in the format of endless video calls.
According to her, they are fortunate that Frangulis's business is spread across the globe, so he can adjust his work schedule to the tennis calendar. Many tournaments become for him both business trips and an opportunity to be by Arina's side. In the same podcast Sabalenka admitted that she dreams of a family and children, but for now is postponing this for the sake of her career and the attempt to stay at the top of the tour.
"My Mother-in-Law" and Hints at a Greek Wedding
Sabalenka spends part of the off-season in Brazil, Georgios's home country. There she has managed not only to get to know his family, but also to clearly feel like one of them. Recently Sabalenka posted a photo with Frangulis's mother, Ana Puccetti, and captioned it in Portuguese "minha sogrinha" – "my mother-in-law". Puccetti in response posted a whole selection of family photos with Arina, her son and other relatives.
The couple is not shy about more public hints either. For example, at one of the tournaments in New York, when a proposal was made to another girl in the stands, Arina admitted to journalists that at that moment she immediately looked at her boyfriend and laughed: "No pressure".
On top of that, they already have shared social stories: their recent "double date" with Novak Djokovic and his wife in Athens is easily read as another sign that the relationship between Sabalenka and Frangulis has gone far beyond brand partnership and long-distance romance.
When Personal Happiness Becomes Part of the Big Game
The story of Arina Sabalenka and Georgios Frangulis is not only about love beyond the court, but also about the balance that is so hard for world-class athletes to find. In her case, there is a person next to her who has himself gone through crises, a career restart and a fight for his health, and now supports her on the path to new trophies.
Perhaps Arina really does have a "big Greek wedding" ahead of her, the one she already half-jokingly refers to. But even without official rings, the main thing is clear: in the life of one of the strongest tennis players in the world, there is now a partner who helps her not only win tie-breaks and finals, but also live through everything that remains off camera of TV broadcasts.
