Elena Rybakina had confirmed the return to her team of her former coach Stefano Vukov in a move that will divide opinion ahead of the Australian Open.
It was confirmed yesterday that Vukov was still speaking to Rybakina despite their split earlier in September with murmurs that the relationship was reportedly abusive. She duly appointed Goran Ivanisevic in a highly heralded move.
But despite starting to work with the former coach of Novak Djokovic, Rybakina was reportedly set to count on the support of Vukov in Melbourne.
She has now confirmed that on her Instagram story writing: “Hello everyone I’m excited to announce that Stefano will be joining the team for the 2025 season. Thank you for all for your support and wishing you a great 2025.”
Having a coach as heralded as Ivanisevic is bound to mean this move is heavily criticised with those on social media seeing that she was a lot more happier and playing superb tennis to start 2025.
How two egos work together to work in her best interests remain to be seen but she will seemingly have two coaches for 2025 or at the very least Vukov will act as Ivanisevic’s deputy.
Stefano Vukov is back in Elena Rybakina's team pic.twitter.com/snvKXBAKOZ
— Mario Boccardi (@marioboc17) January 1, 2025
Samuel GillEditor-in-Chief
Samuel Gill is the Chief Content Officer (CCO) of TennisUpToDate.com, a role he has held since 2020. He is responsible for editorial governance across the platform, including setting content standards, overseeing accuracy and consistency, and guiding long-term editorial strategy. Since joining, he has contributed more than 10,000 articles and editorial pieces across the TennisUpToDate network, playing a central role in the daily operation and development of the site.
Based in Leicester, Samuel has a broad background in tennis media. In his current role, he works closely with editors and writers to ensure coverage meets clear journalistic standards, with particular attention to verification, consistency, and timely updates when new information becomes available.
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