Stefano Vukov and Elena Rybakina. (Image: Getty)
New accusations have come to light over the treatment of at the hands of her former coach. The 2022 champion , having spent five years under his guidance.
The announcement came on the eve of this year’s US Open and signified a shock development for tennis fans.
During their partnership, Vukov had regularly courted controversy with his exuberant behaviour during matches, but the 25-year-old had regularly defended her mentor in public.
But since the tournament in Flushing Meadows, speculation has mounted that Vukov has privately been banned from being involved on the . Rybabinka, 25, has refused to comment on the rumours, but another coach in Australian Rennae Stubbs has now spoken out.
“You guys know, if you have listened to our podcast, I had my feelings and my thoughts when it came to Elena Rybakina’s coach,” she said on her podcast. “I thought he was not a good element. When I’m playing a match, I don’t want to see my coach gesturing, looking all pissed off up there.
“And there’s been some coaches of late that I’m like, ‘Why do these players allow these coaches to look like this?’ Because you need a positive influence around you when you’re looking up there.”
Rybakina celebrates her 2022 win at Wimbledon. (Image: Getty)
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And Stubbs, 53, also alleged that there was mistreatment outside of playing matches as well. “Now, off the court, in a way he might be the greatest guy in the world to her, I don’t know,” she added.
“But when it comes to being her coach, I saw way too many things of him yelling at her in the gym, other players have said stuff to me. When she would win matches, he was giving her s**t. This is what other people saw. There’s 25 other people that could see the same thing I was seeing.”
The Kazakhstani player has only played one game since confirming the split, beating qualifier Destine Aiava in the first round in New York. But she then withdrew from the tournament due to injury, later announcing she would be taking time off for a back injury.
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Under Vukov, Ryabinka at SW19. That saw her crowned the youngest woman champion since the 21-year-old Petra Kvitova prevailed in 2011.
That success was deemed controversial though, given her Russian heritage. Despite initially being banned from competing due to her birth country’s involvement in the ongoing war in , Ryabinka got around the sanction by switching her allegiance to Kazakhstan.