By Chris Oddo | @TheFanChild | Saturday January 11, 2025
Elena Rybakina took questions from the press today and, naturally, most of them were about her coaching situation. The World No.6, who shook up the tennis world by announcing she would be bringing former coach Stefano Vukov back into her team despite the fact that she hired Goran Ivanisevic to be her coach late last year, provided some clarity about the fluid situation, but not much.
Rybakina, who will face Emerson Jones in her opening match in Melbourne, admitted that the current situation is far from ideal. Vukov is currently under provisional suspension from the tour, and has not been granged a credential at the Australian Open.
Read More: Rybakina in Limbo, as Vukov Faces Suspension from the WTA Tour
“Well definitely not the ideal situation,” she said. “As I said, I’m not happy with the whole situation. Especially when still some coaches are making some comments, and the people who are not so close to the tennis world just see the comments and they pick it up and make even more of a show out of this.
“I don’t think it’s fair. My goal here is to focus on the matches. This is what I’m gonna do.”
Rybakina clarified her current situation, saying that Ivanisevic would be with her in Melbourne, and hinted that rumors that Ivanisevic was blindsided by the news that Vukov would be rejoining the team were not true.
“We are here, we are working, yes it’s him,” she said, adding: “As I said already I’m not going to speak about it more, since the situation is not clear from the WTA Tour.”
Rybakina labeled comments made by Pam Shriver about the nature of her relationship with Vukov as unfair and said she had never spoken to the American.
It’s a topic that is near and dear to the legend’s heart. In 2023 Shriver opened up for the first time about an inappropriate relationship she had with her former coach when she was just 17.
“I don’t know her personally,” Rybakina said of Shriver. “She never came to me. She never talked with me. I know her story. It’s sad, but it doesn’t mean other players are facing the same issues. She doesn’t know me. I don’t know her. I don’t think it’s fair to make any comments like that. Especially being an active coach, commentator, journalist and so on.”
