Days before the US Open officially begins, Elena Rybakina has announced that she and her long-term coach Stefano Vukov have parted. The world No. 4 announced on social media that she and the Croatian were “no longer working together,” calling off their five-year collaboration. In 2019, not long after Rybakina’s initial breakthrough into the top 200 of the WTA Rankings, she began collaborating with Vukov.
The ensuing half-decade saw the 25-year-old scale some of the greatest heights in tennis, most notably capturing the Wimbledon title in 2022.
She also reached the Australian Open final in 2023, winning eight WTA titles – including three this year – and reaching a career-high ranking of world No 3 last season.
In her Instagram story, Rybakina said she would like to “thank” 37-year-old Vukov for their work together.
She wrote: “Hello everyone, after 5 years Stefano and I are no longer working together.
thank him for his work on-court and wish him all the best for the future. Thank you all for the support.”
Rybakina and Vukov had one of the longest-standing player-coach partnerships within the women’s game and one of the most successful
However, at points, their partnership was under scrutiny.
Criticism of Vukov reached its highest in Melbourne in 2023 when Rybakina reached her second Grand Slam final in the space of three majors.
Arguably the leading critic was tennis great Pam Shriver, who expressed a wish that the Kazakh found a coach who treated her with “respect”.
She posted: “As I watch Rybakina try to win her second major in 7 months, I hope she finds a coach who speaks and treats her with respect at ALL times and does not ever accept anything less.”
