Elena Rybakina has announced she will start working with Goran Ivanisevic, Novak Djokovic's former coach, during the off-season.
Rybakina is in Riyadh ahead of the WTA Finals, which will start on Saturday. She will face the world No. 1 Aryna Sabalenka in one of her round-robin matches, but Jasmine Paolini is her first opponent on Saturday.
The 2022 Wimbledon champion had been away from the WTA Tour for over two months. She claimed that was due to a back injury, but some suspected her absence was linked to parting ways with longtime coach Stefano Vukov.
Rybakina and Vukov had worked together for five years, achieving significant success. The move to end their partnership was surprising purely from a results perspective, without considering other factors.
However, Vukov often received criticism for his treatment of Rybakina during matches, with many feeling he sometimes became unnecessarily harsh and even abusive toward the Kazakhstani.
Reporting done indicated Rybakina's absence was probably linked to splitting with Vukov. One well-known journalist reported that she had psychological problems after her time with the Croatian coach.
Ivanisevic worked with Marin Cilic, Tomas Berdych, and Milos Raonic before becoming Djokovic's coach. Cilic, who became the lowest-ranked ATP champion ever in September, won the US Open with Ivanisevic in his team.
The 2001 Wimbledon winner joined Djokovic on 30 June 2019 ahead of Wimbledon. During their time together, Djokovic secured nine of his 24 Grand Slams and achieved outstanding longevity under Ivanisevic.
Djokovic and Ivanisevic unexpectedly parted ways in March of this year, but the split was amicable. The 10-time Australian Open champion said he continues to view the Croat as a close family friend.
Rybakina announced the move in a press conference ahead of the WTA Finals, saying Ivanisevic's experience and what a great champion he was played a role in her decision to appoint him.
"Yes. It's going to be Goran Ivanisevic. Now I'm going to stay here for the next seven minutes, right? (laughter) Really looking forward to this partnership. I think he's a great champion and he has so much experience. I'm really looking forward to start."
When asked whether he wanted to work with her or the other way around, Rybakina confirmed she definitely desired to be coached by Ivansisevic but also said the former Wimbledon winner must want to if he said yes.
"Well, I definitely wanted to work with him. I'm sure since he said yes he also, so... It's just very interesting for me. I want to learn. Yeah, I'm just looking forward. As we just said, it's something new for me. Also, I've been with one coach for long time. I want to learn. Yeah, really happy and we will see what we can do together."
Rybakina's excitement about working with Ivansevic is unsurprising. Although Djokovic is considered by many to be the greatest player ever, the Croat still proved his abilities as a coach during his time with him.
Ivanisevic also possessed a somewhat similar big-serving and powerful style, which could make him the ideal person to understand how Rybakina can improve further.