Shocking confessions about Elena Rybakina and coach Stefano Vukov could shake up the WTA
It appears Elena Rybakina parted ways with her longtime coach Stefano Vukov, three days before the 2024 US Open.
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Elena Rybakina with Stefano Vukov (Image via Reuters)
Kazakhstan tennis ace Elena Rybakina has been going through a lot. The World No.4 has been missing tournament after tournament. The biggest shocker came at the 2024 US Open when Rybakina pulled out of the tournament after reaching the second round. She did not play in Seoul and most recently, Rybakina pulled out of the Asian swing as well.
While many speculated injury concerns for the 25-year-old, shocking details have emerged about why Rybakina missed tennis action. It is reported that the Kazakh ace is not coping well with her split with longtime coach Stefano Vukov, with whom she parted ways just three days before the US Open.
Not only that, Sofya Tartakova, a Russian journalist, has claimed that Vukov’s relationship with Rybakina was pretty spoiled. Speaking on the Tennis Bolshei YouTube channel, Tartakova revealed some intriguing details about Rybakina’s relationship with her coach.
All these difficulties that she [currently] faces, she faces because of a lot of very heavy pressure associated with her former coach Vukov. They say that Stefano actually came to the US Open, that he was in New York, was ready to continue working with her, but Lena decided that they would break up because of a very difficult… I don’t want to say big words, not quite the correct attitude of her mentor towards her.Sofya Tartakova revealed about Elena Rybakina’s problems with her coach.
The journalist further claimed that Vukov “ate” Rybakina all the time and that it became an unbreakable vicious circle between the player and her coach.
There were bad words said to Elena Rybakina by her coach Stefano Vukov
Sofya Tarkatova further claimed that Stefano Vukov often used bad words for Elena Rybakina and that this split between the two professionals has affected the player severely. Rybakina is said to be recovering from psychological problems while she continues to cite her back injury as the reason for her withdrawal from tournaments.
It is clear that they were very close, she won the main achievements of her career thanks to their joint work, [but] her parents insisted that Lena change something in her tennis life, because there was pressure, and insults, and bad words said to her. They were constantly from Vukov’s lips. And now Elena Rybakina is suffering and trying to get rid of psychological problems, so the situation is, of course, very difficult for her, but we’ll see.Sofya Tarkatova said about Elena Rybakina and Stefano Vukov.
It is worth noting that Vukov is known for his frantic and intense coaching style, and the Croatian has previously admitted that he “know[s] very well how to get Elena angry”. Also, the Croatian coach was recently removed from the WTA’s list of coaches which indicates that he might be banned from the tour. However, there is no official confirmation from any parties yet.
Meanwhile, for Rybakina, the road ahead looks challenging as the World No.4 is struggling to find her way back on the tour. She pulled out of the Asian swing but promised to be available for the WTA Finals in Riyadh. Rybakina has played 14 tournaments this season so far and has won three titles.
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Ritesh Pathak
(2150 Articles Published)