“I was surprised but…,” Andy Roddick expects good results from Elena Rybakina as she hired Novak Djokovic’s ex-coach Goran Ivanisevic
Elena Rybakina parted ways with Stefano Vukov and hired Novak Djokovic's former coach, Goran Ivanisevic ahead of the WTA Finals.
Follow Us
Elena Rybakina has started working with Novak Djokovic's ex-coach Goran Ivanisevic (Images via X, BBC)
Elena Rybakina‘s coaching changes surprised former World No. 1 Andy Roddick, but he has backed her decision and is expecting good results. Rybakina, after her split from Stefano Vukov, her coach of five years, hired Novak Djokovic‘s former coach, Goran Ivanisevic.
While working with Vukov, Rybakina won the 2022 Wimbledon and climbed to a career-high ranking of No. 3. The ongoing WTA Finals in Riyadh is Rybakina’s first tournament with Ivanisevic, who previously has worked with only male players.
I was surprised, but I shouldn’t have been. I think we have become a little narrow-minded as Goran has only worked with men, so we didn’t have his name in the conversation. But if you think about it past my ignorance, both of them are big servers who can hit all spots on the court. Who has Goran worked with? He has been with big flat hitters who like to go along the court with [Marin] Cilic and Djokovic.
Andy Roddick told Tennis Channel
Some things just make sense … like Elena Rybakina and Goran Ivanisevic joining forces in 2025 ? pic.twitter.com/haUZJt2tTZ
— Tennis Channel (@TennisChannel) November 2, 2024
Ivanisevic coached Cilic from September 2013 to July 2016, during which the Croatian won his only major title (2014 US Open). Djokovic, on the other hand, won nine out of his 24 Grand Slam titles under Ivanisevic, who was part of the Serb team from 2019 to 2024.
Elena Rybakina jokes after meeting Neymar Jr.
Elena Rybakina played her first match on the WTA Tour since her first-round match at the US Open in August. She was up against Jasmine Paolini in her first group-stage match at the WTA Finals on Sunday (November 2). The 2024 Wimbledon finalist defeated the Kazakh 7-6(7-5), 6-4.
Despite the defeat, Rybakina remained optimistic and took to Instagram and joked that though she failed to win the match, she got the chance to meet Neymar Jr.
Well at least I got a pick with @neymarjr.
Elena Rybakina wrote on her Instagram story
Neymar had tossed the coin and posted with Rybakina and Paolini before the match. The Al-Hilal star also attended the semifinal match between Rafael Nadal and Carlos Alcaraz at the Six Kings Slam exhibition event held in Riyadh.
Rybakina will next lock horns with Qinwen Zheng, who was outclassed by Aryna Sabalenka in her first match. After Zheng, Rybakina will meet Sabalenka on November 6. The 25-year-old is yet to win the WTA Finals and last year, she failed to reach the semifinals after losing two of her three group-stage matches.
Stay Updated!
Gouri Das
(4785 Articles Published)