Rybakina's New Coach Ivanisevic Weighs In On Controversial Vukov Situation
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Elena Rybakina's new coach, Goran Ivanisevic, was honest when providing an assessment of the current situation in the Kazakhstani player's team.
Rybakina might be one of the most talented players on the WTA Tour, but at the moment, her potential might be limited with everything happening around her off the court.
At the end of the 2024 season, the Kazakhstani player parted ways with Stefano Vukov who has been a controversial figure in her team. The Croatian coach was often seen acting not in the nicest way towards his players, which drew criticism from many former players.
Shortly after the split, reports surfaced that Vukov was banned by the WTA, but those were never confirmed. That was until the start of the 2025 season when a report surfaced suggesting that Vukov was provisionally suspended by the WTA.
That came only shortly after Rybakina announced that the two would start working together again, even though she already appointed another Croatian coach, Goran Ivanisevic.
The report from The Athletic, which revealed Vukov's provisional suspension, also suggested that Ivanisevic was "blindsided" by Rybakina's move to bring back her old coach.
That's why journalist Ben Rothenberg sat down with Ivanisevic ahead of the 2025 Australian Open, and from the conversation, it was palpable that Ivanisevic was probably not in the same boat as his player at the moment.
"Listen, the investigation is still on, so we wait for WTA to finish, and then I can talk about everything. But until then… I spoke to Elena; I told her what I think."
"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."
For the 53-year-old coach, this is certainly a situation that he didn't expect to happen shortly after becoming a coach of a WTA player for the first time.
It was a big career move for him, but now it turned into a bit of a nightmare. Ivanisevic watched his words closely, as he didn't want to make a big statement before the WTA concludes their investigation, which should be done by the end of the week.
"Listen, I don't want to…—heh. It's a very strange situation. So I don't want to, really. I can talk to you after WTA makes the decision, and then we can. We're hearing every day different things. But hopefully, [by] the end of this week."
"I mean, let's put it this way: I'm here. I just want to wait for WTA; I think it's fair. And then, we'll see what's going to be next. Still, I don't want to go too much into the future. It's today, Tuesday. Let's stay in Tuesday."
It's not known how the conclusion of the WTA's investigation will impact Ivanisevic's position in the team, but it's clear that he's not happy with it.
"Really, it’s not good for anybody."
