Who is Stefano Vukov? Elena Rybakina’s controversial coach has steered her to three Slam finals
Stefano Vukov has often found himself at the centre of major controversy and was at one point suspended by the WTA, but he has bounced back to lead Elena Rybakina to a third Grand Slam final.
The 38-year-old steered Rybakina to the 2022 Wimbledon title while they also finished runner-up at the 2023 Australian Open, but there have been plenty of ups and downs for both as they were embroiled in a saga that attracted huge attention from all corners.
Here, we look at Vukov’s rise to prominence and the issues he found himself at the centre of.
Playing and early coaching career
Born in the coastal city of Rijeka in March 1987, Vukov – the son of a software engineer father and a dentist mother – began playing tennis at the age of 12.
After playing Futures events, the Croatian reached a high of world No 1,122 on the ATP Rankings and slowly switched his focus to coaching, initially with junior players.
“I really loved the game. I really love tennis. So when I graduated from college, I decided to stay in the sport a bit,” he told WTA Insider in 2020.
“I was playing quite a lot of matches around still, but I didn’t feel that I had it in me maybe, to keep on going on tour, to push it, to try to go that path.
“But I used to love to hit the ball. So I started sparring. I started working with juniors, with kids, eight years ago in Florida. I worked my way up with a couple of juniors, started taking girls ranked 800, 900 to future levels, 15Ks, 50Ks, 100Ks. Started winning some events.”
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Work with WTA Players
In Florida, Vukov spent time working with the likes of WTA players Sachia Vickery, Anhelina Kalinina, and Renata Zarazua.
It was in February 2019 that a then-19-year-old Rybakina, fresh from splitting with previous coach Andrei Chesnokov, hired the Croatian permanently.
Rybakina was ranked just inside the world’s top 200 at the time but ended 2019 as the world No 37, winning her first WTA title at the Bucharest Open that July.
By the end of 2020, the Kazakh had reached 19th in the world under Vukov’s guidance, having won two WTA titles and reaching a further six finals.
After narrowly missing out on a medal at the Tokyo Olympic Games in 2021, Rybakina finally broke through towards the top of the sport in 2022.
Vukov coached the Kazakh to the Wimbledon title that year, with Rybakina coming from a set down to defeat Ons Jabeur in the final.
The following year, he coached his charge to a second Grand Slam final at the Australian Open and significant WTA 1000-level titles in Indian Wells and Rome.
2024 saw the Croatian guide Rybakina to WTA 500 titles in Brisbane, Abu Dhabi, and Stuttgart, as well as the last four of Wimbledon and last eight of Roland Garros.
Controversy and split
Vukov’s behaviour towards Rybakina first attracted attention during the 2023 Australian Open, with the likes of Pam Shriver among those critical of his demeanour and attitude around the Kazakh.
Former world No 3 Rybakina was quick to defend her coach from criticism, but that did not stop speculation growing about how she was treated by Vukov.
Tensions seemingly began to flare across 2024, with terse exchanges between the two across the spring – most notably during her Roland Garros quarter-final loss to Jasmine Paolini.
However, it still came as somewhat of a surprise when Rybakina announced that she and Vukov had parted ways just days before the 2024 US Open.
Rybakina insisted that the pair had parted on good terms, though there was lingering talk suggesting the Croatian had been suspended.
Reunion and suspension
Vukov largely kept a low profile following his split from Rybakina in August, which made her announcement on New Year’s Day that he was rejoining her entourage even more surprising.
Rybakina had hired Goran Ivanisevic as her coach in the aftermath of the split, and it is thought that even he was blindsided by the Kazakh’s decision.
Reporting from The Athletic would later confirmed that Vukov is under investigation by the WTA for breaking their Code of Conduct.
The Croatian was not eligible to receive accreditation for any WTA event while the investigation took place and, with Tennis Australia upholding the suspension, he was not accredited for the Australian Open.
In February 2025, it was confirmed that Vukov had been suspended by the WTA for 12 months, but he continued to work with Rybnakina away from official tournaments while launching an appeal.
Six months later, he was back coaching Rybakina after his ban was lifted, and has since guided the Kazakh to the Ningbo Open title, WTA Finals title, and final of the Australian Open.
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