Elena Rybakina didn't hide that she was frustrated over not having Stefano Vukov in her box during the Australian Open and also indicated that continuing her partnership with Goran Ivanisevic isn't set in stone.
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On Monday, the world No. 7 saw her run at Melbourne Park end in the round-of-16 after USA's Madison Keys handed her a 6-3 1-6 6-3 defeat.
Since the WTA hasn't concluded their investigation into Vukov's conduct yet, he remains banned from coaching.
And without credentials, the 37-year-old wasn't allowed to accompany Rybakina on the practice court, the locker room, or sit in her boy during matches.
"Definitely (I wanted him in the box) - as I said before, this is not the position I want to be or someone wants to be in," the 2022 Wimbledon winner noted following her Australian Open exit.
"Of course, I want to have who I want in the box, but I couldn't change it.
"At the end of the day, I just tried to focus on my matches, and I spoke with him. I also have Goran, so it didn't affect the way I played today or any of the result."
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Rybakina on her partnership with Ivanisevic: We still need to talk
It has been reported that Novak Djokovic's former long-time coach was left stunned after hearing about the Vukov reunion news.
And the general belief and expectation is that he won't continue with the Kazakh if the 37-year-old gets cleared and returns to the team.
"Well, we still need to talk. We just tried [working together] in the pre-season and these couple of tournaments it was something just getting used to each other," Rybakina said when asked what will happen with the Ivanisevic partnership.
"We will definitely talk how the next schedule is going to look like."
Since finishing as Australian Open runner-up in 2023, the 25-year-old has had two disappointing runs, losing in the second round last year and making only the round-of-16 this year.
