Elena Rybakina defends her coach after 'disturbing' criticism from tennis world, says comments about him not respecting her are unfounded
Elena Rybakina's run to the 2023 Australian Open final has firmly established her as one of the new faces to watch out for. The youngster has plenty of positives to take back from her fortnight in Melbourne, but there have also been a few instances where she has been surrounded by controversy.
Rybakina took to social media on Sunday in response to what she described as "disturbing" comments about her relationship with current coach Stefano Vukov. The coach drew criticism from fans and former players for his rude courtside behavior, particularly during his charge's semifinal contest against Victoria Azarenka.
In an Instagram post aimed at clarifying "misinterpretations", Rybakina declared that Vukov was one of the first to identify her potential and that he has believed in her game for many years.
"After a great Australian Open, I have seen some disturbing comments on social media about the behaviour of my coach Stefano Vukov. I want to clarify any misinterpretations," Elena Rybakina wrote. "Stefano has believed in me for many years, before anyone else did."
Describing Vukov as a "passionate" coach, Rybakina said he possesses a lot of knowledge about tennis and knew her better — both as a person and an athlete — than the people who were cricitising his behavior on social media.
"We plotted a strategy together in how I could achieve great things and his method shows in my Grand Slam success so far," Elena Rybakina said. "He is a passionate coach, with a lot of knowledge about tennis. Unlike people that are making these comments, he has great knowledge about me as a person and as an athlete."
The reigning Wimbledon champ further stated that people who knew her well knew that she would never partner with a coach who did not respect her. Reitirating that Vukov had helped her achieve "great" things, the soon-to-be World No. 10 appealed to fans to "disregard" any news to the contrary.
"Those who know me well, will know that I would never accept a coach that didn’t respect me and all our hard work," she said. "I may be quiet on court and in general, but inside me is a competitive athlete that wants to achieve great things and Stefano has helped me greatly in this way. So please disregard any fake news to the contrary."
Elena Rybakina and Stefano Vukov's parternship goes back to 2019
Elena Rybakina and Stefano Vukov first joined hands in February 2019, with Vukov replacing Andrei Chesnokov as the Kazakh's full-time coach.
The duo found instant success on the WTA Tour, with Rybakina bagging a first career at the Bucharest Open that year. She broke into the top 20 in the rankings a year later, off the back of five finals appearances.
Rybakina's big breakthourgh came at SW19 last year when she won her maiden Grand Slam title at Wimbledon, also under the tutelage of Vukov. She followed that up with a second Major final appearance at Melbourne Park this year, where she lost a three-set thriller to Aryna Sabalenka.