Elena Rybakina made the 2022 Wimbledon even more memorable by winning the trophy as a dark horse candidate who nobody expected.
Her life story is especially curious to the triumph considering some other circumstances but the win was very deserved. Nobody knows that better than her coach of four years who was there for every second of it. Similar to her, his reaction was one of shock and disbelief as well because it was sudden and rather unexpected, even for him, who believed in her the most.
"I did not expect that to happen. It's exciting. I still haven't wrapped my head around what's going on...especially in the last couple of matches. We told her to keep going; keep pushing, and it's unbelievable for her. We started working together four years ago, playing ITF events...it's amazing for her as a player and me as a coach."
Stefano Vukov knows Rybakina well and they make a very good team. Now, after this event, it's quote obviously why. But taping into that potential was not very obvious and Vukov had to understand what kind of person Rybakina is. He shared a bit about that following the win:
"She's super calm as a personality. You can't change that much; that's who she is. She can be a bit more fiery, yes, to win more the moments of the match rather than stopping to activate a bit more, It's the way she is, and she's an unbelievable person to work with."
He added:
"She still doesn't feel her position on the court in certain moments. It happens quite a bit after a big shot; I'd like her to be a little bit more aggressive towards the net, using her size and wingspan."