Elena Rybakina bringing back Stefano Vukov gets a lot messier

Why did she do it? Sometimes, people just seem to quit others, even though maybe they are bad for them. Of course, we do not know the underlying situation of why Elena Rybakina fired coach Stefano Vukov late last year only to bring him back this year. We do know Vukov liked to hurl abuse at Rybakina during matches because we all could see it.

What we have seemingly learned late this week is that even though Rybakina made the New Year's Day announcement that Vukov would be back joining her team as a coach, he won't be available to help her at the Australian Open. According to an article by The Athletic, Vukov is serving a provisional suspension for a code violation and will not be allowed to coach in Melbourne.

Vukov has said he has never been abusive toward Rybakina, thereby implying he should not be suspended. The problem is that, even if Rybakina denies any abuse herself, anyone sitting in the stands at a match for the player can hear the coach hurl abuse. We might not know what happens behind the scenes, but we are first-hand witnesses to what happens in front of us.

Elena Rybakina coach Stefano Vukov is not in the good graces of the WTA

The problem is two-fold. Many tennis fans might feel bad for Rybakina having gone through things we can hear during matches. The human element (and therapists everywhere will know better than we do here) is that the player seems to be in denial of what others have clearly witnessed. This is not meant as an afront to her. The fault lies with Vukov.

Of course, former Novak Djokovic coach Goran Ivanisevic is also involved. He was hired to replace Vukov, and he is not in charge of helping the player get further in the Australian Open than she ever has. Ivanisevic knows what he speaks as well because he helped Djokovic win many titles in Melbourne.

Still, this goes beyond tennis. Why did Rybakina bring Vukov back? There is clearly more to the relationship than we know. The hope is that, eventually, she will move on for her own sake both professionally and personally.

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