Elena Rybakina ‘calmed down’ after Stefano Vukov returned as coach
Elena Rybakina’s controversial coach, Stefano Vukov, played a major role in “bringing her back to the right state” following her slump midway during the 2025 season, according to former player Elena Vesnina.
After a turbulent 2024 campaign during which she parted ways with Vukov before he was provisionally suspended by the WTA for breaking its code of conduct, Rybakina bounced back during the second half of this campaign.
The 2022 Wimbledon winner and her Croatian coach went their separate ways in September 2024, and not long after, the WTA confirmed it had launched an investigation into Vukov’s behaviour following complaints that he was mistreating the player.
Following a short stint with Goran Ivanisevic, Rybakina started working with Vukov again during the off-season, but in February this year officials announced that the Croatian had been handed a 12-month ban and he was unable to attend official WTA-sanctioned events.
Vukov, though, stayed by her side away from official tournaments as they appealed the sanction, and in August he was cleared to return as her coach.
And three-time women’s doubles Grand Slam winner Vesnina believes his return was key to her return to form.
“I think Lena has calmed down because the person who knows her very well, knows her strengths and weaknesses, and understands how to, let’s say, wake her up, has returned,” she told Championat.
“Because, it seems to me, Lena sometimes, due to her somewhat phlegmatic temperament, can seem to withdraw into herself and reflect.
“And Stefano Vukov knows how to use his methods to bring her back to the right state [of mind]: ‘Okay, you’re on the court. You’re winning, come on, you’re a machine, you’re working’.”
Elena Rybakina News
Why did Elena Rybakina snub WTA CEO during photo shoot after winning WTA Finals?
Goran Ivanisevic’s true opinion on Elena Rybakina revealed after split as Wimbledon title claim made
While the Vukov appeal was on-going, Rybakina’s on-court performances suffered and in July she dropped out of the top 10 in the WTA Rankings for the first time since January 2023.
The 26-year-old started to show glimpses of her best form during the North American hard-court swing as she reached a couple of semi-finals to return to the top 10 before it clicked in Asia.
The Kazakh star won the Ningbo Open and, after reaching the semi-finals of the Japan Open, she qualified for the WTA Finals.
And she went on an amazing run at the season-ending tournament as she defeated world No 2 Iga Swiatek, Amanda Anisimova and Ekaterina Alexandrova in the group phase and Jessica Pegula in the semi-final to reach the final of the prestigious event for the first time.
Facing world No 1 Aryna Sabalenka, Rybakina produced one of her best performances in recent years as he beat the four-time Grand Slam winner 6-3, 7-6 (7-0) to win the title undefeated, collecting a record $5.235 million for her undefeated run.
She finished the year at No 5 in the rankings on the back of that result with many predicting she will kick on next year and will likely be the player to beat at the 2026 Australian Open.
