Elena Rybakina is at the center of attention as the tennis world looks for clarity on her choices this season. But instead of providing straightforward answers, she has taken a more evasive stance. Last year was a rollercoaster for her, filled with injuries and a split from coach Stefano Vukov. This season, however, has seen Vukov make a surprising comeback to her team just months after she brought in Goran Ivanisevic as her coach. This decision has raised eyebrows, especially given their tumultuous history. So what’s Vukov doing there?

After the announcement of his return, the situation intensified when it was revealed that Vukov is currently under provisional suspension by the WTA for allegedly breaching the code of conduct. Adding to the drama, Goran Ivanisevic admitted that Rybakina left him out of the loop regarding this decision. With the Australian Open just days away, this seems like a tough spot to be in for the Kzach.

During a recent pre-tournament press conference, reporters asked Rybakina about Vukov’s role in her team. While she has previously defended her decision to include him despite concerns over his aggressive coaching style—comments that even sparked reactions from former WTA star Coco Vandeweghe, who has expressed her honest thoughts explaining why this is all “problematic”. Elena has a different take on this.

She said, “First of all, with the whole situation I don’t want to speak much about what’s going to be next but defintiely as I said before, I don’t agree with a lot of things. What WTA do in the sense of my relationship with Stefan as I said before that I have never made any complaints or any of these things and I always said that he never mistreated me.”

While it’s her word against anyone else’s, it’s noteworthy that even her parents voiced concerns about the mistreatment she faced while working with coach Stefano Vukov. Reports indicate they encouraged her to end the partnership before it finally fell apart. Only for her to rejoin forces with him this season. Despite their previous success together—breaking into the top 10 and winning Wimbledon in 2022—this raises a crucial question. Does that overshadow the impact on her mental health, which led to multiple withdrawals just last year?

Not to forget that while she didn’t go far in the WTA Finals, she still managed to take down the top seed, Aryna Sabalenka, with a convincing victory of 6-4, 3-6, 6-1 alongside Ivanisevic. But in the end, Rybakina stands firm on her stance, adding, “I don’t really want to speak about this more and I want to focus on my matches here.” But the question still stands, why the need for a sudden backtrack? Looks like Andy Roddick has a theory on that.

Roddick builds a hypothecal scenario of Elena’s coaching controversy

In an episode of Roddick’s Served Podcast, Jon Wertheim joined him to discuss the ongoing controversy surrounding Rybakina. Regarding why she would bring someone who was reportedly aggressive in his coaching style back on the team. He stated, “We just don’t know is the answer here. So we’ve seen aggressive voicing of whether it’s opinions, coaching things, aggressive tone; that itself, you can’t get suspended. If you’re a coach and say ‘hey move your fu**ing feet,’ you can’t get suspended for that right? But what we don’t know is if it ever crossed the line.” This uncertainty adds complexity to their relationship and the scrutiny Rybakina faces.

Additionally, with the WTA suspension that Stefano is facing, he added, “I’m just trying to think of situations where the WTA actually has the authority to put their thumb on the scale as far as you know we’re going to investigate you, are you going to cooperate? ‘No I’m not.’ Okay then maybe that’s the grounds for it like you won’t even have a conversation with us that’s a problem. And this is purely speculative. I don’t know those types of things jump out at me as things where WTA could rightfully put their thumb on the scale even though Rybakina says no”

Now she’s gearing up to face her first opponent, Emerson Jones, on January 14 at Rod Laver Arena. But while she’s spending her time on the practice courts, it’s curious to see if she can rise above the distractions and deliver a strong showing. Will she meet expectations and make a significant impact at the Australian Open? Share your thoughts in the comments below!