Aryna Sabalenka is one win away from making the semifinal round of the US Open — and what she hopes will be her second Grand Slam win — and she’s “really happy” to have the support of her boyfriend Georgios Frangulis through the ups and downs of this year.

“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,” the Australian Open winner, 26, tells PEOPLE in conjunction with her partnership with Dobel tequila. “But I make sure I kind of forget about tennis and focus on the good things and enjoy my life. Even when things are going wrong in my career. So yeah, he was my biggest support and yeah, really happy to have him by my side.”

Six months after the death of her ex-boyfriend Konstantin Kolstov in March, Sabalenka admits that it has been “difficult year.” A shoulder injury forced her to pull out of Wimbledon, weeks after an illness led to a quarterfinals loss at the French Open.

Sabalenka skipped the Paris Olympics in order to prioritize her health — which led her to triumph last month at the Cincinnati Open.

“That was a really, really great tournament for me, and I was super happy to win the title,” the Belarusian star tells PEOPLE.

All of which led the world No. 2 tennis player to enjoy a celebratory cocktail, made with Dobel.

“My celebration was with tequila,” she says. “I mean, I’m growing, and my celebration is becoming a little bit different. I went from sweets to alcohol, probably. I mean, in a good way, in a celebration way, I would say.”

At the US Open, attendees can indulge in a Marg-Aryna, a drink made with Dobel Diamante Cristalino Tequila, which Sabalenka calls her “favorite.”

The tennis star still has a few more rounds to go before she can raise a glass in New York. On Tuesday, Sept. 3 she’ll face No. 7 Zheng Qinwen at Arthur Ashe Stadium for a shot at the semifinal on Thursday, and the final on Saturday. Winning the Grand Slam, her second of the year, would put a bow on Sabalenka’s 2024 season.

Coming full-circle is something not lost on the phenom, as she looks back on the year’s highs and lows.

Over the summer, Sabalenka shared her feelings about Frangulis, the Brazilian CEO of superfood company Oak Berry, commenting on one of his Instagram photos that he was “the love of my life.”

“It was an amazing start of the year, especially replicating last year’s result and starting the year with the Grand Slam title again,” she tells PEOPLE. “ It was something really meaningful and it was really something special. I was on top of the world, and in that moment I was super proud of my team, of myself, that we were able to achieve such a huge goal.”

She adds, “And then, of course, I faced a lot of challenges. But now looking back, I can say that it was really the best year of my career, and probably in some things, like it was a really difficult year. But I’m really happy that I was able to go through everything with a strong mentality and still compete on my highest level, I think. This is something me and my team should be proud of.”