It seems like the road has been anything but smooth for Elena Rybakina this season. The Kazakh tennis star, once riding high, has faced a dip in her performance since her title win at the Porsche Tennis Grand Prix back in April. Adding to the on-court struggles, her recent split with coach Stefano Vukov has stirred up even more challenges, with serious allegations against him now dominating headlines. As the drama continues to take center stage, Aryna Sabalenka‘s coach, Anton Dubrov, has jumped into the conversation, offering his own take on the controversy.

The controversy erupted after a tennis bigwig and Russian journalist, Sofya Tartakova, dropped a bombshell during an interview. She claimed that Rybakina faced distressing situations with her coach and alleged that the Croatian coach was even banned from the WTA, although there was no official confirmation on the issue. Now, adding to the saga, Dubrov has offered his insights and highlighted what could have gone wrong between the two. 

The Belarusian coach engaged in an interview with Vesti and shared his insights into the matter. When quizzed if Vukov was actually banned, Dubrov said that he himself came to know about the news on social media. “It’s not something that’s discussed on tour,” he shared. However, he did not fail to offer reasons that could have caused the alleged ban. 

“Sometimes, when a person finishes working with someone, he can write to the WTA in a fit of emotion, asking them to remove him from everything.” He claimed that it could be due to a rift between Rybakina and Vukov that might have compelled the Kazhak player to approach WTA and request changes. “Maybe it was his request. Maybe they had such a fight that she approached the WTA and asked them to remove his name, that he was coaching her. There were internal matters.” He shared that since the entire saga emerged during the US Open, he could not engage in a direct conversation with Vukov. 

Well, Vukov has often witnessed flak for his aggressive coaching style and his alleged disrespect towards Rybakina. However, the star player herself came out in his defense previously and said, “I would never accept a coach that didn’t respect me and all our hard work.” But after their split ahead of the US Open, shocking claims were made which were further fueled by Tartakova, who said that there was more to Rybakina’s withdrawals. 

Interestingly, Rybakina has withdrawn from as many as 10 tournaments and did not return to the court after withdrawing from her second-round match at the US Open, owing to health crises. But Tartakova believes that it was not just the health problems that compelled the star player’s withdrawals. “They said that she is having difficulties, back problems. This is the official reason. Then, during this year, she had stomach problems. But as people who did not work with her, but were involved in her professional career, say, she is now under a lot of stress, and this is all psychosomatic.” But despite the rumored challenges, the Kazakh player is motivated to make a strong comeback. 

Elena Rybakina expresses hope about her WTA finals chances

Elena Rybakina might have struggled to prove her mettle on the court lately. However, this has not impacted the confidence of the 2022 Wimbledon champion, who desires to make a strong comeback ahead of the WTA finals to be held in Riyadh between November 2 and November 9. 

While announcing her absence from the Asian Swing, Rybakina highlighted her woes. “Due to an ongoing back injury, I regretfully have to withdraw from the upcoming Asian tournaments. While I’ve been working hard on my recovery, my medical team and I have decided it’s best to prioritize my health at this time.” However, she was determined to make a comeback soon. “This has been a challenging year and I am grateful for the support from the tournament organizers and all of my fans. My team and I will work on getting me back on the court before the season finale.” 

Despite her latest absence, the star player has managed to maintain a stronghold as World No. 4 and is well-placed to qualify for the WTA finals. For now, it will be interesting to see if Elena Rybakina herself comes forward to give a statement about her rumored rift with former coach Stefano Vukov.