How Elena Rybakina’s former coach contributed to her mental health struggles
Elena Rybakina parted ways with former coach Stefano Vukov following an emotional and mental abuse from him.
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Elena Rybakina with former coach Stefano Vukov (Image via Reuters)
On the eve of the US Open in August, Elena Rybakina announced that she had parted ways with Stefano Vukov after five years together. Their partnership’s biggest success was winning the 2022 Wimbledon Championship and also helping her reach a career-high ranking of World No.3 in June 2023. However, Rybakina and Vukov’s partnership ended disastrously.
The Kazakhstan was said to be under a lot of stress since the 2024 season, which affected her performance on the court. Vukov was alleged to be at the center of it, as his notorious behavior and coaching style inflicted mental and emotional pains on Rybakina.
In this article, we will take an indepth look at Rybakina’s collaboration with Vukov and what led to the pair parting ways.
1) Elena Rybakina and her relationship with her coaches
Elena Rybakina has had only three coaches since when she began playing at the ITF Women’s Circuit in 2014 at just 15 years old. Her first coach was Andrei Chesnokov, who trained with her at the Spartak Tennis Club until 2018. The legendary coach did not travel with her to tournaments. However, the World No.5 grew under his tutelage and made her WTA debut at the Kremlin Cup in 2017.
After Rybakina broke into the WTA Top 200, she decided to partner with Stefano Vukov, who would travel with her to tournaments. Their relationship produced an instant success the following year as Rybakina won her maiden WTA title at the Bucharest Open. Under the guidance of the Croatian coach, Rybakina improved rapidly winning eight singles titles. They parted ways in August 2024.
In October, Rybakina announced that Goran Ivanisevic will be her new coach starting in 2025. The Kazakhstan was without a coach from August till the end of the season and it was not new to her because she had the same experience earlier on in her career.
2) Challenges Elena Rybakina faced under Stefano Vukov
Without a doubt, Vukov guided Elena Rybakina to the pinnacle of her career, but behind the scenes, things weren’t good. After her split with the Croatian details emerged that Rybakina’s decision to part ways with Vukov was because of the emotional and verbal abuse she received from him. According to Russian journalist Sofya Tartakova, the pressure, insults and verbal abuse took a heavy toll on Rybakina’s mental state.
In fact, Vukov’s mistreatment first came under fire during the 2023 Australian Open semifinal and final match after he aggressively spoke to her. His outburst drew widespread criticism from tennis legends Pam Shriver and Marion Bartoli accusing him of using overaggressive gestures at Rybakina. However, Rybakina defended Vukov days later and continued with him.
But this year, Kazakhstan couldn’t take it anymore. The lack of emotional support during defeats led to much pressure on her, which also led to her withdrawing from several tournaments.
3) The impact on Elena Rybakina’s mental health
Throughout the 2024 season, Rybakina was in and out of tournaments due to a combination of illness and injuries. The Kazakhstan surprisingly pulled out of the Paris Olympics, a few days after her impressive semifinal run at Wimbledon. She also withdrew from the US Open due to a lower back injury after winning her first round match.
However, all the withdrawals were a result of the toxic relationship that existed between Rybakina and Vukov.
They said that she is having difficulties, back problems. This is the official reason. But… she is now under a lot of stress, and it is all psychosomatic. She is now in a completely disorganized state, she cannot play.
Sofya Tartakova reported
The toll of the abusive environment that was on Rybakina’s psyche cannot be overstated. Mental health issues, which have been often overlooked or dismissed among elite athletes, were manifest in Rybakina’s case, as they led to physical ailments. In fact, Tartakova added that the constant strain of being in an unhealthy environment significantly contributed to most of Rybakina’s illnesses.
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Victor Okechukwu
(640 Articles Published)