“There’s something obviously going on here,” speculated Rennae Stubbs on ESPN about Elena Rybakina’s sudden breakup with her coach Stefano Vukov. Imagine withdrawing from nine tournaments in a single season, mostly because of injuries and illness! For Rybakina, who has earned three titles so far, this has become an unfortunate trend. Moreover, her abrupt decision to split up with her coach of five years, Vukov, before the US Open, a tournament from which she eventually pulled out in the second round, has further fueled the fire.

After her withdrawal from the China Open, Serena Williams’ ex-coach, Stubbs shared her honest take on the matter! During the September 24th episode of The Rennae Stubbs Tennis Podcast, Stubbs talked about the strange pattern of Elena Rybakina’s multiple tournament withdrawals this year.

Referring to the rumor of Rybakina’s coach being banned from the WTA coaches list, she further shared her opinion, stating, “All of a sudden, there’s obviously something going on with the coach. He has disappeared as well from the tour. And his word is that he’s been banned from the tour. So there’s just something going on there that we clearly don’t know firsthand knowledge of, but it’s pretty bloody obvious.”

Remember, after winning a Porsche in Germany, how Rybakina hilariously added, “It’s going to be Stefano driving…” or her mother as she did not have a driving license herself? Until that event, not only did she talk about any concerning situation with her coach, but she also withdrew from only two events, the Indian Wells and the Dubai Tennis Championships.

However, what followed soon was a series of withdrawals (Italian Open, Berlin Open, Eastbourne International, Olympic Games, Canada Open) owing to her injuries and illness. The final blow came before the US Open, where she parted ways with Vukov, and stated on Instagram, “I thank him for his work on-court and wish him all the best for the future. Thank you all for the support.”

Vukov, who propelled Rybakina to win eight WTA titles, has come under a lot of scrutiny from fans owing to his aggressive style of coaching. Be it during her last year’s Australian Open semifinal match or third-round clash in the 2023 US Open, fans have frequently noticed some animated reactions from the coach during her matches. Even though Rybakina clarified and defended Vukov, saying, “I would never accept a coach that didn’t respect me and all our hard work,” speculations about their rocky relationship have grown more after their split. And now that the former Wimbledon champion has withdrawn from the Seoul and China Open, it seems that the surrounding noise will only soar. Referring to this, Elena Rybakina has recently opened up on the matter.

“This has been a challenging year,” admitted Elena Rybakina after her withdrawal from the Asian tournaments

The 25-year-old player, Elena Rybakina, has secured third place in the WTA race to the November 2-9 Finals. But will she be back by then? In a recent statement after her withdrawals from the Asian tournaments, Rybakina assured her fans of her comeback after sharing her health update. “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.”

Furthermore, the Kazakhstan star added, “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.” Moreover, shortly after her split with Vukov, Rybakina was seen practicing with a new trainer before the US Open! Nevertheless, Elena Rybakina, who has suffered from gastrointestinal illness, bronchitis, and back injury problems throughout the season, is hoping to come back to Riyadh for the finals and play some amazing tennis once again!