Elena Rybakina Breaks Silence On Split With Coach Ivanisevic
News
Elena Rybakina is no longer working with coach Goran Ivanisevic, and she addressed the situation ahead of the 2025 Abu Dhabi Open.
Since Rybakina's last-year split with her controversial coach, Stefano Vukov, the Kazakhstani's coaching situation has been very complicated. She brought Ivanisevic as her coach during the off-season, but the two split already after the Australian Open.
One of the main reasons behind their split could have been the fact that Rybakina rehired coach Vukov. According to a report by The Athletic, Ivanisevic was not informed about this move.
Eventually, the two split and the only communication about their split was a short statement from Ivanisevic. Rybakina isn't known as a player who would talk a lot without being asked, so she first spoke about the split ahead of the 2025 Abu Dhabi Open.
The Kazakhstani player spoke to AFP, and she was asked about her split with Ivanisevic. Rybakina didn't want to go into details, but she said that it was a mutual decision.
"We just sat down, we talked, and we decided to go our separate ways. But I think I learned a lot and it’s not easy to find a good collaboration. It, of course, takes time and everything, but that was our decision."
At the same time, the 2022 Wimbledon champion revealed that working with her might not be as easy as some fans might think. She called herself "stubborn on the court."
"We’ll see how this year goes for me. I’m also not such an easy player maybe like some people think, ‘Oh it’s easy with her’, or something, but it’s not really like this."
"I think every person is different and there is no one who is perfect. I can be sometimes stubborn on the court, stubborn on some things, that’s at least my honest opinion."
Rybakina is also in regular contact with her reappointed coach, Vukov. At the same time, she added another coach to her team.
Davide Sanguinetti is Rybakina's new coach. He should be closely linked to Vukov, which is probably something that the WTA World No. 5 player looked for, as she appreciates Vukov for everything he's done for her.
"He’s an important person in my career. We started when I was like 200 [in the WTA Rankings]. So it’s a lot of things, on the court, outside of the court, he’s helping out with."
"I feel like of course it’s not ideal that he cannot be on the practice courts but at the same time we are finding a way also with help of Davide, his opinion. I hope it’s going to work out. We have a good team in the end of the day."
