World number four
Elena Rybakina has trained with her new
coach after parting ways with Stefano Vukov. The 25-year-old is already
regarded as one of the best players currently playing in women’s tennis in the singles
category along with Poland’s Iga Swiatek, Belarus’ Aryna Sabalenka and America’s
Coco Gauff.
Rybakina has been in the news recently after the announcement that she was parting ways with her now-former coach, Vukov. She announced the development
in a post on her official account on the social media platform Instagram. "Hello
everyone, after five years, Stefano and I are no longer working together,"
she wrote. "I thank him for his work on-court and wish him all the best
for the future. Thank you all for the support.”
It seems like she has teamed up with Yuri Schukin. He is seemingly a temporary coach for Rybakina who is the lead coach of the Kazakhstan Davis Cup Team
In a video that appeared on the social media platform X — previously
known as Twitter — where she can be seen working with her new coach. Rybakina
is going through a mixed campaign. Her most recent appearance was in the
Cincinnati Open where she was knocked out after losing in the round of 32 to
Canada’s Leylah Fernandez with a score of 3-6, 7-6, 6-4.
Her most impressive performance this year came in the
Stuttgart Open, where she lifted the title after beating Ukraine’s Marta Kostyuk
in the final in straight sets with a score of 6-2, 6-2. Before that, she also
won the Abu Dhabi Open after beating Russia’s Daria Kasatkina in the final in
straight sets with a score of 6-1, 6-4. In the mega-events, Rybakina had a mixed
time as well. Her best appearance in a Grand Slam this year came at Wimbledon, where she was knocked out after losing in the semifinal to Czech Republic’s Barbora
Krejcikova with a score of 3-6, 6-3, 6-4. Rybakina will begin her
US Open campaign
with a match against Australia’s Destanee Aiava. It will be their first-ever
meeting in professional tennis.