Tennis News: Elena Rybakina, Aryna Sabalenka and Iga Swiatek
- Rybakina has a new coach (sort of)
- Sabalenka has thoughts on the competition Swiatek brings
By Lee Vowell
Elena Rybakina needed a new coach. After her long-term relationship with Stefano Vukov fell apart at the US Open, Vukov was let go and then taken off the approved coaches list for the WTA. Tennis fans still don't know all the details of why Rybakina and Vukov split, but the news likely won't be good.
Rybakina has had a frustrating year. She has withdrawn or retired from eleven different tournaments. She does not appear to have one certain physical injury, so some have wondered if her struggles are more mental and how she was treated by Vukov. He was certainly a bit too harsh and borderline abusive toward Rybakina when she was playing her matches.
With Vukov gone, Rybakina needed a new coach, of course, and she has recently turned to Lovro Zovko to help her, at least temporarily. The move is not permanent yet, but Zovko appears set to coach Rybakina at the WTA Finals in early November.
Elena Rybakina gets a new coach and Aryna Sabalenka needs Iga Swiatek
Rybakina knows Zovko as he holds a coaching role within the Kazakh Tennis Federation. This should help smooth the transition to a new full-time coach sometime in 2025.
Two other top-ranked WTA players, Aryna Sabalenka and Iga Swiatek, are a much-needed rivalry in women's tennis, at least according to Sabalenka. The Belarusian also confessed to being excited when she sees Swiatek, the current WTA No. 1, in a draw for any event because the potential of the two players meeting late in a tournament is exciting to fans.
The two have met 12 times over the course of their careers with Swiatek winning eight times. Sabalenka did win the last meeting, which came in the Cincinnati Open semifinal and the Belarusian won with relative ease 6-3 6-3.
dark. Next. Coco Gauff and Matt Daly seem like a perfect match. Coco Gauff and Matt Daly seem like a perfect match
Oddly, while the two players are fairly evenly matches, in three of the last four meetings, the loser (Sabalenka twice and Swiatek once) has not won more than six games in a match. The rivalry is somewhat close, but many of the specific matches are not.
According to Tennis365, Sabalenka said, "Having this rivalry with Iga is something big for tennis and something much-needed, I would say, in women’s tennis. To keep this competition going would be really good for tennis. I love having this competition and I love seeing her in the draw. I love to get to the finals and face her. It’s always great battles. I always enjoy fights against her."
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