Rybakina Backs Vukov: He Never Mistreated Me

By Richard Pagliaro | @TennisNow | Saturday, January 4, 2025

Picture credit score: Elena Rybakina Instagram

Elena Rybakina backs coach Stefano Vukov—and is looking out some coaches on Tour for his or her criticism of him.

Final week, Rybakina introduced Vukov, who beforehand coached her for greater than 5 years, was rejoining her group as an assistant coach underneath head coach Goran Ivanisevic.

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After Rybakina’s announcement, The Athletic broke the information that Vukov is serving a provisional suspension that stops him from receiving a training credential for this month’s Australian Open.

Some coaches and commentators, together with Pam Shriver and Rennae Stubbs, have criticized Vukov for his remedy of Rybakina.

World No. 6 Rybakina stated Vukov has not mistreated her—and reiterated she’s not joyful seeing important feedback from different coaches. 

“After all I am probably not proud of the scenario. I am not proud of the feedback which I see, particularly from the people who find themselves on the tour,” Rybakina advised the media at United Cup in Sydney. “It is lively coaches, commentators. I do not suppose that it is truthful.

“Yeah, however the one factor I can say is, like, he by no means mistreated me. I’ve respect to him for every little thing he did from the very starting after I was 200 all the best way what we did, like, I do not know. You may identify me different coaches who had the identical success with gamers who’ve been 200 after which successful Grand Slam and being within the prime.”

Ivanisevic, who has coached Novak Djokovic and Marin Cilic to Grand Slam championships, was reportedly not within the loop on Vukov’s return and blindsided by the information.

Nonetheless, Rybakina stated she’s proud of how her partnership with Ivanisevic is continuing, however didn’t say if her new coach is joyful together with her former coach’s return to the group.

“Nicely, I am working with Goran, and these articles got here out, I imply, I can solely say and I stated it already earlier than that [Stefano Vukov] by no means mistreated me or it was by no means something like that.

“I imply, I am working with Goran. I am joyful the best way we work now for the couple of weeks. As I additionally stated, that Stefano is rejoining the group as a result of I do know the individual for six years, and there’s a lot of issues we are able to do exterior of the courtroom too.”