Goran Ivanisevic’s true opinion on Elena Rybakina revealed after split as Wimbledon title claim made
Goran Ivanisevic’s opinion on how many Wimbledon titles Elena Rybakina should win has come to light following the pair’s split.
Rybakina hired Ivanisevic as her coach at the end of the 2024 campaign having parted ways with long-time coach Stefano Vukov in August last year.
The Russian-born Kazakh star then made the shock revelation on January 1 that Vukov would be re-joining her coaching team.
Ivanisevic was reportedly “blindsided” by Vukov’s return, but coached Rybakina at the Australian Open, where she reached the fourth round, losing to eventual champion Madison Keys.
The day after Rybakina’s announcement, it emerged that Vukov had been suspended by the WTA Tour amid an investigation into a breach of their code of conduct. Vukov was handed a one-year ban in February, but he was cleared to resume coaching in the tour last week after a successful appeal.
Ivanisevic, who previously coached Novak Djokovic, confirmed he would not continue working with Rybakina after their collaboration in Melbourne.
“After our trial period that finished with Australian Open, I wish Elena and her team best of luck moving forward,” the 2001 Wimbledon champion wrote on Instagram.
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Former world No 5 Anna Chakvetadze revealed what Ivanisevic recently said to her about Rybakina when she was interviewing the Croatian.
“When we interviewed Goran Ivanisevic, he said off-camera, ‘I don’t understand, she (Rybakina) has such an amazing game, she should be winning more tournaments on grass, not one Wimbledon but three to four at least,” Chakvetadze said on a podcast with fellow former Russian WTA star Dinara Safina.
Rybakina won her only Grand Slam title to date at the 2022 Wimbledon Championships, where she came from a set down to beat Ons Jabeur in the final.
She was a quarter-finalist in her title defence at the All England Club in 2023, while she reached the last four in 2024. At Wimbledon this year, the 26-year-old suffered a surprise third round loss to Clara Tauson.
In March, Ivanisevic highlighted Rybakina’s off-court situation as the reason he stepped down, while also lauding her ability as a player.
“It was a bit strange,” Ivanisevic said on a podcast with former Croatian footballer Slaven Bilic. “I won’t talk much about it, but I can say that it’s a bit of a sad and strange story.
“I consider her, even before I became her coach, at least for me, to be the best tennis player in the world. She plays the most beautifully, she plays the simplest and I really enjoyed it.
“Unfortunately, some things happened off the court that I couldn’t control and I didn’t want to be a part of that and part of that story and then I decided that it was best to quit. I wish her all the best in her career.”
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