Elena Rybakina's ex-coach Stefano Vukov makes first public appearance since controversial break-up with Kazakh & rumors of WTA ban

Stefano Vukov is best known as the former coach of Elena Rybakina, having spent five years coaching her. Under his guidance, the Kazakhstani player worked her way to become one of the best tennis players in the world, winning Wimbledon in 2022.

The relationship soured last year after months of speculation that something was off. Then came the news that Rybakina parted ways with Vukov, which stunned quite a few people. The player then hired Goran Ivanisevic as her new coach.

Even though he's not part of her coaching team anymore, Vukov was spotted close to her recently. The Croatian coach was seen watching her team compete at the World Tennis League in Abu Dhabi. Rybakina is part of that event as her match against Aryna Sabalenka was played right before the doubles match that Vukov was spotted watching.

It's unclear whether Stefano Vukov was in the stands for Elena Rybakina's match.

What happened between Elena Rybakina and Stefano Vukov?

The dynamic between Elena Rybakina and Stefano Vukov has looked strange for a very long time. Back in January of 2023, a few tennis voices such as Rennae Stubbs called out Vukov for questionable behaviour during Rybakina's matches as his coaching methods fell under the spotlight.

Stubbs continued to talk about it, mentioning in an interview with ESPN during the US Open that something was going on with the player because she had way too many withdrawals this year. Stubbs even admitted that she didn't think Rybakina was happy.

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"I’ve seen her over the last couple of days. She hasn’t looked great. I’ve seen her for years on the tour. I know what she looks like when she’s happy, when she’s healthy, when she’s playing well. When she’s playing well, on this surface, she’s one of if not the best player in the world. So what’s going on with her, I think it’s a lot more than we realize. This is terrible. It’s sad," Stubbs told ESPN.

Stubbs was one of the early ones to call out his coaching as toxic, prompting Rybakina to defend him in January of 2023. After they parted ways, Rybakina was reportedly dealing with psychological issues according to one Russian journalist.

Those reports were never confirmed, but Vukov seemingly did get banned from the WTA, which further promoted even more speculation about what happened.

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