Elena Rybakina's split from her longtime coach, Stefano Vukov, before the 2024 US Open generated attention, and Kim Clijsters thinks more will come out about the story.
Vukov was Rybakina's coach for over five years, from February 2019 until August of this year. The Kazakhstani was playing at ITF events when she hired Vukov, but her game developed significantly in the following years.
The highlight of their time together was undoubtedly Rybakina's title triumph at the 2022 Wimbledon Championships. Her shock run to glory was sealed by recovering from a set down against Ons Jabeur in the final.
Rybakina also reached the 2023 Australian Open final, losing a thrilling battle against Aryna Sabalenka. Other achievements during their partnership included WTA-1000 titles and numerous other finals.
However, despite Rybakina's progress with Vukov as her coach, the Croatian's actions also caused controversy. He was accused of being harsh and verbally abusive to the 25-year-old during her matches.
Rybakina, who withdrew from the Korea Open, defended Vukov on multiple occasions, saying he was just trying to give her energy and belief. However, that did not stop her fans and some analysts from being worried about how he acted towards her.
Some wondered whether Vukov's conduct was the reason for Rybakina splitting with him before the US Open. The former Wimbledon champion's vague statement about the split added to those theories.
Rumors intensified when it was reported that Vukov was banned from the WTA Tour for unspecified reasons. Rybakina's sudden withdrawal from the US Open hours before her second-round match also seemed strange and raised questions.
Three-time US Open champion Clijsters said she knows Vukov was at Flushing Meadows with a credential, making her convinced there is more to the story that fans will eventually find out about.
"I think there’s definitely – more will come out. He was at the Open. He had a credential. He was there."
Clijsters fears the reason for Rybakina's split with Vukov is not good. She finds the situation weird and thinks only a few people working directly for the WTA Tour know why Vukov suddenly stopped working with Rybakina.
"It’s like weird… It’s all a guess to everybody besides some people who are part of the organization. I think we’ll find out more in the future about it. But at the moment, I don’t think – it’s not going to be anything good."
The former US Open winner made those comments on Andy Roddick's podcast. Roddick also gave his thoughts, mentioning that Vukov had been kicked off the coaches list on the WTA Tour, which does not happen for no reason.
"Her coach got banned from – there’s a coaching list of available coaches and they kicked him off. You don’t get kicked off for nothing."
Roddick agreed there was more to the story but refused to offer a concrete opinion on Rybakina's split from Vukov and her withdrawal from the US Open, saying it is impossible to be sure about what happened.
"There’s obviously more to the story but we can’t have an opinion on something you don’t know anything about."
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