Elena Rybakina asked if Goran Ivanisevic will continue as coach as she addresses Stefano Vukov saga
Elena Rybakina has discussed her coaching situation and given an update on her injury after losing to Madison Keys at the 2025 Australian Open.
The 2022 Wimbledon champion fell 3-6, 6-1, 3-6 to world No 14 Keys in the fourth round at Melbourne Park.
Rybakina revealed at the start of January that her former coach Stefano Vukov, who she worked with between 2019 and 2024, would be making a shock return to her team for the 2025 season.
The day after Rybakina’s announcement, The Athletic reported that Vukov had been suspended by the WTA Tour amid an investigation into a breach of their code of conduct.
After parting ways with Vukov in August last year, Rybakina appointed 2001 Wimbledon champion Goran Ivanisevic as her head coach at the end of the 2024 season.
Vukov did not receive accreditation for the Australian Open, with Tennis Australia upholding the WTA’s provisional suspension.
Australian Open News
Goran Ivanisevic announces Elena Rybakina coaching decision amid Stefano Vukov controversy
After losing to Keys, Rybakina — who worked with Ivanisevic in Melbourne — was asked how not having Vukov in her coaching box affected her at the tournament.
“Well definitely — as I said before, this is not the situation I want to be or someone wants to be in,” the 25-year-old said in her post-match press conference.
“Of course, I want to have who I want in the box, but I couldn’t change it.
“At the end of the day, I just tried to focus on my matches, and I spoke with him. I also have Goran, so it didn’t affect the way I played today or any of the result I think.”
The world No 7 also addressed whether Ivanisevic will continue in his role as her coach moving forward.
“Well, we still need to talk of course,” Rybakina added.
“We just tried the pre-season and these couple of tournaments. It was something we were just getting used to each other.
“We will definitely talk how the next schedule is going to look like.”
Rybakina had not dropped a set in her first three matches, but she suffered a back injury in her third round win over Dayana Yastremska.
The Kazakhstani admitted she was still not feeling at her best physically after her defeat.
“Well yesterday I did a full day of recovery and some treatments. It was better this match than the previous one, definitely,” she explained.
“But now after the match is done, I still have some pain, so this is something I need to take time to rest, to heal and to continue to work.”
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