Elena Rybakina issues update on her controversial coaching situation at French Open
Elena Rybakina has clarified the nature of her collaboration with banned coach Stefano Vukov during the 2025 French Open.
The 2022 Wimbledon champion is in fine form, having won four matches to secure the title at the WTA 500 tournament in Strasbourg last week.
That was Rybakina‘s first title in over a year and she has built on the run by winning her first two matches at the French Open: against Julia Riera and Iva Jovic. She will face Jelena Ostapenko in an intriguing third round showdown, while Iga Swiatek could wait if she reaches the last 16.
The early part of Rybakina’s season was marred by the controversy surrounding her long-time coach Stefano Vukov.
Rybakina and Vukov worked together for over five years until they parted ways in August 2024.
However, despite hiring Goran Ivanisevic as her coach at the end of last season, Rybakina announced on January 1 that Vukov would be returning to her team this year.
The day after Rybakina’s surprise move, it emerged that Vukov had been provisionally suspended by the WTA Tour pending an investigation into a breach of their code of conduct.
In February, the WTA Tour confirmed Vukov had been banned from coaching in an official capacity, with The Athletic reporting it is a one-year suspension.
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The Athletic also reported shocking details of the “mental abuse” Rybakina was subjected to from Vukov and disclosed that the pair’s relationship was described as “toxic” in a letter by the WTA’s chief executive Portia Archer.
Rybakina has publicly maintained that Vukov “has never mistreated” her and she has repeatedly expressed her disappointment at the ban.
The 25-year-old added Italian coach Davide Sanguinetti to her team shortly after Vukov’s suspension.
After reaching the French Open third round, Rybakina confirmed she still works with Vukov outside of tournaments when asked about the collaboration.
“We usually train together between tournaments, not when the tournament is on,” she explained.
The Russian-born Kazakh star also spoke about her challenging season to date.
“This is definitely not the start to the season I used to have before. Normally, after preseason, I’d play very well. This time it’s been different,” Rybakina assessed.
“Last year, I missed the end of the entire season. It takes time to get back to where I want to be, but little by little, I think we’re heading in the right direction, working on practically everything to improve every day.”
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