Elena Rybakina adds to coaching drama ahead of Australian Open

Elena Rybakina has a lot on her plate before she plays the opening round of the Australian Open in Melbourne. Following a hiatus from the tour shortly before the US Open last season, the Kazakh player did not return to competition until the WTA Finals in Riyadh. The hiatus, however, came after Rybakina parted ways with her coach of five years, Stefano Vukov. The 25-year-old, meanwhile, hired Goran Ivanisevic, the coach of Novak Djokovic until March 2024, for the upcoming season. Ivanisevic, a renowned coach who helped Djokovic win 12 of his 24 Grand Slam titles, is working with Rybakina on a temporary basis. Elena Rybakina, who climbed from World No. 200 to World No. 3 with Stefano Vukov, seems to remain loyal to her former coach despite widespread criticism.

Elena Rybakina has yet to let go of Stefano Vukov despite the WTA suspension ahead of Australian Open

Rybakina kicked off the 2025 season in Australia at the United Cup, where she lost her semi-final singles match for Kazakhstan against Iga Swiatek, who led Poland to a second consecutive final. However, ahead of the Australian Open, Rybakina made a surprising announcement where she informed that Stefano Vukov would rejoin her team. This time, however, the WTA intervened and suspended Vukov from the Tour under a "code of conduct" breach. The suspension means Vukov is not accredited to assist Rybakina directly in the player's corner or arena. 

Stefano Vukov, during his five years coaching Rybakina, a period that included her maiden Grand Slam title at Wimbledon, developed a polarizing reputation. The former Croatian player has been observed verbally confronting his pupil on several occasions. However, it is still unclear whether his conduct toward Rybakina is the reason for his suspension from the WTA. So far, it is believed that only Vukov, Rybakina, and the WTA know the specific reasons for his suspension. Similarly unclear is the role Rybakina intends to assign to Vukov within her team with Goran already present in the coaching position.

Since the suspension was announced, Rybakina has stood by her coach. However, respected coaches and commentators from the tennis world have frequently raised concerns. While these claims remain speculative until Rybakina confirms or denies them, former World No.1 Pam Shriver has gone as far as to describe the situation as "abuse." When Vukov joined her team, Rybakina was still a teenager. Now, she is an adult. But the nasty lanes of abuse are seldom easy to unwind. Manipulation, gaslighting, stockholm syndrome, it could be anything at play or all at once. What also could be the case is what the 25-year-old Rybakina shows it to be, nothing.

In a recent press conference held a day before the main draw of the Australian Open kicked off, Rybakina addressed the ongoing controversy. Seeded sixth in Melbourne, she openly called out the WTA, commentators, and Shriver, reiterating her position on the matter. Vukov, for his part, has already stated that he has “never” mistreated anyone, despite the suspension by the WTA. 

“I don’t agree with a lot of things what the WTA do in the sense of my relationship with Stefano,” said Rybakina, the sixth seed in Melbourne. “As I said before, I have never made any complaints or any of these things. I always said that he never mistreated me. That’s one thing. Since this situation is how it is now, I don’t really want to speak about this more. I want to focus on my matches here," she added.

While Rybakina and Vukov scream their stances aloud frequently, it remains utterly unclear where the seasoned Goran stands in the equation. Thankfully amid all the scrutiny, Rybakina is still aware of the priority where she needs to keep the Australian Open. The 25-year-old World No.6 is set to face Junior World No.1 wildcard entrant Emerson Jones in the opening round in Melbourne.

“Definitely not the ideal situation,” Rybakina said. “I’m not happy with the whole situation, especially when still some coaches are making some comments, and the people who are not so close to the tennis world, they just see the comments and then they’re picking it up, make even more show out of this. I don’t think it’s fair, too. But my goal is here to focus on the matches. This is what I’m going to do," she concluded.