After a poor 2024 season which was marred by injuries and inconsistent form, Elena Rybakina has already set her sights on the 2025 season. As a result, she made a brisk move in her coaching team after parting ways with her longtime coach, Stefano Vukov. Ahead of the US Open, the Kazakh star ended her partnership with Vukov after a string of poor results. Subsequently, she hired a highly successful coach, Goran Ivanisevic. Despite Ivanisevic being a decorated coach, Rybakina’s decision came as a shocker for Andy Roddick.

Yesterday, a new episode of the Tennis Channel Live podcast dropped where Andy Roddick was present to discuss the Paris Masters and the WTA Finals. During a conversation there, he was asked to comment on the new partnership between Ivanisevic and Rybakina. Roddick mentioned, “I was surprised, but I shouldn’t have been, right? I think we become a little narrow-minded with Goran’s only work with men so we didn’t even have his name in the conversation but if think about it, both big servers who can hit all the spots on the court and what will Rybakina need – a little bit levity in her box every once in a while.”

Interestingly, before Rybakina, Ivanisevic has never coached a female tennis player. He has worked with the likes of Marin Cilic, Tomas Berdych, Milos Raonic, and Novak Djokovic. All of them are big servers like Rybakina and Roddick feels that the new partnership will reap success despite Ivanisevic being a stranger to the WTA Tour.

Meanwhile, it has been a disappointing campaign for Rybakina in Riyadh. The past few months have been difficult for her as she confessed to facing enduring times.

Elena Rybakina throws light on harrowing past

At the WTA Finals in Riyadh, Rybakina lost both of her round-robin matches, first against Jasmine Paolini and then against Qinwen Zheng. With the Kazakh star almost out of the tournament, Rybakina lifted the lid on going through tough times.

She said, “This year I had a lot of ups and downs, starting with sleep problems, like insomnia. When you have such a rhythm, it’s not easy to stop. After I got used to some rest, it was really nice. Again, it’s not easy to start after this break. But I’m happy with the work we did in the last two weeks. Of course, I’m not maybe at my 100%. Yeah, I’m just looking forward and happy to be healthy now and start playing.” 

Rybakina’s only remaining match is against Aryna Sabalenka. She will be looking to end her campaign on a high by upsetting the World Number 1. Moreover, with Ivanisevic in her team now, Rybakina will look for a fresh start next season and come back strongly from her untimely injury setbacks. Can Rybakina be the player to watch out for next year with Ivanisevic on her team? Let us know your views in the comments below.