Elena Rybakina Details How Much Immune System Issues Impacted Her
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Elena Rybakina spoke honestly about how much immune system problems derailed her 2024 season.
Most of the focus on Rybakina in recent months has centered on her relationship with Stefano Vukov, the Kazakhstani's primary coach for five years from 2019 until a few days before last year's US Open.
Rybakina's split from Vukov was surprising. The 2022 Wimbledon winner refused to discuss why it had happened when asked about it in press conferences. Rybakina then withdrew from her second-round match at the US Open a few hours before it was due to start.
She did not compete for over two months after that, eventually returning at the WTA Finals. Goran Ivanisevic, Novak Djokovic's former coach, was eventually confirmed as Vukov's replacement.
There was widespread shock when Rybakina announced on New Year's Day that Vukov would join her team for the 2025 season. It was planned that he would support her but not take Ivanisevic's place.
The WTA felt it had no choice but to reveal after Rybakina's statement that Vukov had been provisionally suspended and was under investigation on suspicion of mistreating her during their time together.
Although Vukov was often criticized during his time with Rybakina for his aggressive coaching style, which some felt was harsh and abusive, the Kazakhstani strongly defended him against accusations of mistreating her.
Rybakina recently said that some, including other coaches, are making a show out of the situation and spreading information that is unfair to her or Vukov. She believes the WTA should not be investigating the Croatian coach.
That saga makes it easy to forget about the health issues Rybakina had during 2024, which she has also spoken about. The former Wimbledon champion had to withdraw from last year's Olympics because of acute bronchitis.
Rybakina opened up about her immune system issues in a press conference before the Australian Open began. She spoke about them at the WTA Finals, but her comments in Melbourne better captured its impact.
"Of course, I want to say it's not easy when you get used to traveling every week. To make a decision also not to play, not to push yourself, because you are a competitor. At the end of the day, you always want to be better."
"Coming back from Melbourne, like the issues with sleep started. It's been going on for a long time. So of course it was not easy. Well, as I said, when my insomnia started, the whole immune system went down. I kept on pushing."
"Maybe I should have taken the rest a little bit earlier. For five or six years I'm on tour, I'm playing non-stop. Even in the off-season, we have maybe one or two weeks. I was struggling during Wimbledon. After that, I had only four days, and I got sick again."
Those immune system issues made a challenging year even more difficult for Rybakina. She started the season superbly, winning three WTA 500 titles in Brisbane, Abu Dhabi, and Stuttgart before the immune system problems took their toll.
