Aryna Sabalenka's long-time coach Anton Dubrov claims the Elena Rybakina and Stefano Vukov split isn't something that is being discussed in the locker room but dropped some hints about what may have happened in the case that shocked the tennis world.
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After the 2022 Wimbledon champion arrived at the US Open with Vukov but then ditched the Croatian coach just three days before the start of the tournament, fans but also some past stars were left stunned by the move because it simply didn't make sense. When reports started coming out that the 37-year-old Croatian was removed from the official WTA coaches list and the Kazakh also mysteriously pulled out of her US Open second-round match, the drama intensified and it only led to more questions.
Since, Rybakina has also withdrawn from Seoul, Beijing and Wuhan. A back injury has been listed as the official reason for her decision to skip the three Asian swing tournaments.
When the world No. 4 made the coaching move, some instantly pointed out that Vukov's behavior and attitude towards the 25-year-old were questioned many times over the last few years. All of that was even before Russian tennis journalist Sofya Tartakova made a claim several days ago that people close to the Kazakh told her she was exposed to "constant pressure, insults and bad words" before her parents intervened to end "a vicious cycle."
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"I saw it on social networks. This is not discussed within the tour. Since tennis is an individual sport, the teams remain within themselves due to competition. And it is rare that you enter into another teams personal spaces. This may be so, but I dont understand what the prerequisites could be. Sometimes, when a person finishes working with someone, he can write to the WTA in a fit of emotion, asking them to remove him from everything. Maybe it was his request. Maybe they had such a fight that she approached the WTA and said to remove his name, that he was coaching her," Dubrov explained to Championat.
Dubrov reveals a message that Rybakina repeated to him several times
When asked if he personally reached out to Vukov after he was fired, the Belarusian - who was Sabalenka's hitting partner before being elevated to the coaching position in 2020 - said he didn't do so out of respect for privacy.
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"There were internal matters. This was during the US Open, I didnt really want to write to him, because I thought Id stay as realistic as possible and keep the attention on my people. If theres no news, Ill write to Stefano, ask how he is," the 29-year-old former Belarusian tennis player shared.
As was the case in previous years, Rybakina's health issues continued in 2024 as she has dealt with various injuries and illnesses this year. When making her comments, tennis insider Tartakova also claimed that all of those issues are on a psychosomatic basis and caused by the stress that the 2022 Wimbledon winner experienced.
When Dubrov and Sabalenka would stumble on the former duo, the 25-year-old Kazakh used to simply tell him that her immune system was "low."
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"We communicate well on the courts, but we don't go too far in personal matters. Injuries, for example, are not discussed. What has been happening in recent months - there's clearly something. If she wants, she'll talk about it. Maybe motivation or health. When we met at tournaments, she might not feel so good. She would just say, 'Immune system is low. Neither I nor anyone from the team knows. We didn't write to her personally, because we don't think it's quite right," the Belarusian coach revealed.
What exactly Tartakova said about the Rybakina and Vukov drama?
According to the Russian tennis journalist, the Kazakh and her parents were aware that the Croatian coach wasn't probably treating her as he should have but they also in mind that he was the one who made the 25-year-old a tennis superstar.
"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 said for the Tennis Bolshei YouTube channel.
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Since Rybakina is also slated to miss the WTA 1000 tournament in Wuhan which starts on October 7th, she won't return to action until at least late October - if she decides to play again this season.
