A Russian tennis journalist has made some absolutely shocking comments regarding the Elena Rybakina and Stefano Vukov split as Sofya Tartakova claims she was told that the world No. 5 was in a pretty abusive environment and that she is currently in a state where she simply cannot go out and play.
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A month ago, the Kazakh decided to end her five-year partnership with the Croatian coach. While some were surprised to see the 2022 Wimbledon champion make that move, more were stunned by the fact that it happened two days before the start of the US Open and after Vukov arrived with her in New York.
However, there was also a group of people who praised Rybakina's decision as it is not a secret that her former coach didn't enjoy the best reputation out there since some had issues with his behavior.
But that was just the start of the drama that ensued as the 25-year-old started her run at Flushing Meadows with a straight-set win before giving very cold and mysterious answers when asked about the coaching move. Two days later, a report came out claiming that the Croatian was banned from the WTA coaches list - and that same day - the Kazakh abruptly withdrew from her second-round match.
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Since then, she has also withdrawn from Seoul, Beijing and Wuhan due to a back injury. Throughout the entire year, the world No. 5 has battled various injuries and illnesses. Now, Tartakova says it is all on a "psychosomatic" basis and that constant stress and tension led to that.
"Many people do not understand the reason for such health problems. They said that she is having difficulties, back problems. This is the official reason. Then, that during this year she had problems with her stomach. But as people who did not work with her, but were involved in her professional career, say, she is now under a lot of stress and it is all psychosomatic. She is now in a completely disorganized state, she cannot play," Tartakova said during a conversation for YouTube channel Tennis Bolshei.
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Tartakova: I was told that Vukov 'ate' Rybakina all the time, her parents intervened
According to the journalist, those associated with the 2023 Australian Open runner-up told her that the Kazakh definitely wasn't happy in that partnership due to "constant insults and bad words." And it got to the point where her parents had to intervene and do what needed to be done.
"And all these difficulties that she faces, she faces because of a lot of very heavy pressure associated with her former coach Vukov. They say that Stefano actually came to the US Open, that he was in New York, was ready to continue working with her, but Lena decided that they would break up because of a very difficult... I don't want to say big words, not quite the correct attitude of her mentor towards her. That is, he "ate" her all the time, as people who surrounded Lena say," the insider claimed.
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"Elena Rybakina's parents stood up for her, because she could not break this vicious circle. On the one hand, this is the coach who worked with her since she was 17, and she herself, together with her family, chose him. On the other hand, it is clear that they were very close, she won the main achievements of her career thanks to their joint work, and her parents insisted that Lena change something in her tennis life, because there was pressure, and insults, and bad words said to her. They were constantly from Vukov's lips."
Tartakova: Rybakina is suffering and battling to overcome this
Since the former world No. 3 pulled out of the next two WTA 1000 tournaments, she will be out for at least another month. But according to the journalist, that's not the main concern right now as the 25-year-old just wants to improve her mental state.
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"And now Elena Rybakina is suffering and trying to get rid of psychological problems, so the situation is, of course, very difficult for her, but we'll see. I tried to find out if there is official information that he is banned from the WTA tour, because we discussed this several months ago, that a report was allegedly written on him and he was suspended from work," she said.
In the last couple of years, Vukov's behavior and attitude towards the Kazakh were questioned and criticized several times. However, the 2022 Wimbledon would every time publicly defend her and she never said bad publicly about her coach.
It will be interesting to see if Rybakina decides to publicly clear the air and reveal some details when she returns to action and gets asked about it.
