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 below 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 glad seeing important feedback from different coaches. 

“After all I am probably not pleased with the state of affairs. I am not pleased with the feedback which I see, particularly from the people who find themselves on the tour,” Rybakina instructed the media at United Cup in Sydney. “It is energetic coaches, commentators. I do not assume that it is honest.

“Yeah, however the one factor I can say is, like, he by no means mistreated me. I’ve respect to him for all the pieces he did from the very starting once I was 200 all the way in which what we did, like, I do not know. You possibly can title me different coaches who had the identical success with gamers who’ve been 200 after which profitable Grand Slam and being within the high.”

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 pleased with how her partnership with Ivanisevic is continuing, however didn’t say if her new coach is glad together with her former coach’s return to the group.

“Properly, 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 glad the way in which 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 particular person for six years, and there’s a lot of issues we are able to do exterior of the court docket too.”