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Siniša Mihajlović, Soccer Player and Coach, Dies at 53

Former Serbian soccer player and coach Siniša Mihajlović poses for photos ahead of the UEFA Champions league match between Red Star and SSC Napoli in Belgrade, Serbia, 18 September 2018. (issued on 16 December 2022). (EPA)
Former Serbian soccer player and coach Siniša Mihajlović poses for photos ahead of the UEFA Champions league match between Red Star and SSC Napoli in Belgrade, Serbia, 18 September 2018. (issued on 16 December 2022). (EPA)
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Siniša Mihajlović, Soccer Player and Coach, Dies at 53

Former Serbian soccer player and coach Siniša Mihajlović poses for photos ahead of the UEFA Champions league match between Red Star and SSC Napoli in Belgrade, Serbia, 18 September 2018. (issued on 16 December 2022). (EPA)
Former Serbian soccer player and coach Siniša Mihajlović poses for photos ahead of the UEFA Champions league match between Red Star and SSC Napoli in Belgrade, Serbia, 18 September 2018. (issued on 16 December 2022). (EPA)

Siniša Mihajlović, a former standout soccer player in his native Serbia and then Italy who became a popular coach in Serie A, has died after a long battle with leukemia. He was 53. 

Mihajlović’s family announced Friday that he died in a Rome hospital. 

Mihajlović had most recently coached Bologna for 3 ½ years, becoming a sentimental favorite of fans and players alike for his desire to remain on the job even after he was diagnosed with leukemia in 2019. 

Players sometimes gathered under Mihajlović’s hospital window when the coach was receiving treatment. 

He was fired by Bologna in September. 

A full-back and free kick specialist, Mihajlović was on the Red Star Belgrade team that won the European Cup in 1991. He also won Serie A as a player with Lazio in 2000 and was on the Inter Milan team that was given the 2006 Serie A title after Juventus was stripped of the honor for the Calciopoli match-fixing scandal. 

“The Serie A league is deeply pained by the death of Siniša Mihajlović,” the Italian league tweeted. “His pure class as a footballer and coach, his strength and his humanity are an example that leaves an indelible void in Italian and world soccer.” 

Mihajlović also coached Catania, Fiorentina, Serbia’s national team, Sampdoria, AC Milan and Torino. 

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Sabalenka Apologizes to Gauff for Post-Match Comments After French Open 

Second placed Aryna Sabalenka of Belarus reacts with the trophy after the final match of the French Tennis Open against Coco Gauff of the US at the Roland-Garros stadium in Paris, Saturday, June 7, 2025. (AP) 
Second placed Aryna Sabalenka of Belarus reacts with the trophy after the final match of the French Tennis Open against Coco Gauff of the US at the Roland-Garros stadium in Paris, Saturday, June 7, 2025. (AP) 
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Sabalenka Apologizes to Gauff for Post-Match Comments After French Open 

Second placed Aryna Sabalenka of Belarus reacts with the trophy after the final match of the French Tennis Open against Coco Gauff of the US at the Roland-Garros stadium in Paris, Saturday, June 7, 2025. (AP) 
Second placed Aryna Sabalenka of Belarus reacts with the trophy after the final match of the French Tennis Open against Coco Gauff of the US at the Roland-Garros stadium in Paris, Saturday, June 7, 2025. (AP) 

Aryna Sabalenka says she has written to Coco Gauff to apologize for the “unprofessional” comments she made following her loss to her American rival in the final of the French Open.

Speaking to Eurosport Germany, the top-ranked Sabalenka said her remarks after her 6-7 (5), 6-2, 6-4 loss to Gauff at Roland-Garros this month were a mistake. In her post-match press conference in Paris, Sabalenka had suggested that the result was more due to her own errors than to Gauff's performance.

“That was just completely unprofessional of me,” Sabalenka said. “I let my emotions get the better of me. I absolutely regret what I said back then. You know, we all make mistakes. I’m just a human being who’s still learning in life. I think we all have those days when we lose control. But what I also want to say is that I wrote to Coco afterward — not immediately, but recently.”

Sabalenka hit 37 winners but finished the final with 70 unforced errors, compared to Gauff’s 30.

She said she wrote to Gauff to apologize and “make sure she knew she absolutely deserved to win the tournament and that I respect her.”

“I never intended to attack her,” Sabalanka added. “I was super emotional and not very smart at that press conference. I’m not necessarily grateful for what I did. It took me a while to go back and think about it, to approach it with open eyes, and to understand. I realized a lot about myself. Why did I lose so many finals?”

Sabalenka, a three-time major champion, also lost to Gauff in the 2023 US Open final, where she also won the first set.

“I kept getting so emotional,” Sabalenka added. “So I learned a lot. Above all, one thing: I’m the one who always treats my opponents with great respect, whether I win or lose. Without that respect, I wouldn’t be where I am today. So it was a tough, but very valuable lesson for me.”