As the 2025 season begins, Elena Rybakina has reignited drama from the previous year. Recently, she announced on Instagram that her former coach, Stefano Vukov, would be rejoining her team. This follows their split in August 2024, which was marred by injuries and tournament withdrawals by Rybakina, with reports of a strained relationship between her and Vukov. After their split, Rybakina hired Goran Ivanisevic, leading many to believe the controversy was settled. However, looks like there’s still more to the story.

However, the announcement caught the tennis community off guard. Throughout 2024, Vukov’s coaching methods had been a topic of heated debate, with suggestions that his behavior negatively impacted Rybakina’s mental health. Andy Roddick addressed this situation on the ‘Served’ podcast with Jon Wertheim, asking about the ongoing “soap opera” surrounding Rybakina’s coaching choices.

Wertheim stated, “One reason this has not, sort of, migrated from ‘rumor in tennis chatter’ to fact is because Elena Rybakina, the player and the subject, has denied and repudiated any idea that there is something wrong here.” While Rybakina has not directly confronted rumors about Vukov’s impact on her well-being, her parents did come to her defense during challenging times. Despite their success—Rybakina rising from outside the Top 200 to No. 7 and winning Wimbledon in 2022—whispers of Vukov’s aggressive coaching style lingered.

“It has been an open secret that this has been an aggressive coach, I’ve heard from players– I mean this is dating back multiple years– I had heard that at one point, the WTA sometimes had planted employees in the stands to sort of get a glimpse of this relationship first hand during matches,” he added. The controversy peaked when Vukov yelled at Rybakina during her semifinal match against Victoria Azarenka at the 2023 Australian Open. Wertheim explained that a complaint against Vukov was lodged before the US Open, coinciding with Rybakina’s unusual mid-tournament withdrawals.

Adding to the complexity of the situation, the journalist confirmed, “I was told that Goran did not necessarily know this or the extent of it, and then, after that post, the WTA confirmed to The Athletic that Vukov was under a provisional suspension.” Following Rybakina’s announcement about Vukov, Ivanisevic described it as “a very strange situation.”

Goran Ivanisevic admits to being blindsided by Rybakina’s choice.

Back in November, it was announced that the former coach of Novak Djokovic, Goran Ivanisevic, would take on the role of coaching Elena Rybakina. In an interview with Tennis Majors, he expressed his excitement about the partnership. “There were some other offers, but I think I chose the right one for me because of Elena’s playing style and potential, but also because of her personality,” Ivanisevic said. After coaching one of the greatest players in tennis history, he was eager for a new challenge, even noting that Rybakina had the potential to “win more Grand Slams.”

However, just a few months into their collaboration, Rybakina announced that she would be bringing back Vukov for the rest of the season, which threw a wrench into Goran’s partnership with Kazhakh.

Ivanisevic admitted to being caught off guard by this decision. When asked about it in an interview with Bounces dated January 7, he said, “Listen, the investigation is still on, so we wait for WTA to finish, and then I can talk about everything.” He added a crucial detail about his future: “I am, for the moment, here. What’s going to happen in a couple of days, I don’t know. But for the moment, I am here. Hopefully, I will stay, and hopefully everything is going to be OK. But let’s take day by day.”

Now as the season progresses, all eyes are on Rybakina and Ivanisevic to see how they navigate this complex situation. What are your thoughts on this?