Earlier this month, Elena Rybakina surprised one and all by re-appointing Stefano Vukov as her coach. The two had split last season, ahead of the US Open, after years of successful partnership. Subsequently, she hired Novak Djokovic’s ex-coach, Goran Ivanisevic, for this season. However, Vukov became known for his controversial coaching methods and pushing Rybakina beyond limits. As a result, he faced the wrath of the tennis community, who were quite vocal about his inappropriate coaching methods. Among them was Serena Williams’ former coach, Rennae Stubbs, who has called it a struggling relationship. Why?

On Tuesday, Rennae Stubbs and Caitlin Thompson, in the latest episode of The Rennae Stubbs Tennis Podcast, discussed key “dos” and “don’ts” for the upcoming tennis season, celebrated Coco Gauff’s pivotal role in the United Cup victory, commended the WTA for its decisive action regarding Elena Rybakina’s coaching situation, and expressed bewilderment at Nick Kyrgios’s recent antics. Thompson, who was first hesitant to open about Rybakina’s controversial relationship with Vukov, called it “bananas”. Stubbs, agreeing that this relationship is “bananas”, continued,

“..,Clearly she is struggling with this relationship with him, whatever that may be…If you want to be in this dysfunctional relationship, that’s up on you, but for someone like Goran, he’s not gonna stick around that and the WTA are putting their foot down. There has been silent band or bans of other people over the last couple of years among other people that we haven’t necessarily known about in the public, the WTA have put their foot down and said that this is not the behavior, it is a loud on our tour.”

To make matters worse, Vukov was provisionally suspended by the WTA ahead of the Australian Open due to a potential breach of the WTA Code of Conduct. As a result, he will not be able to obtain a WTA credential and attend any tournaments as Rybakina’s coach. Additionally, there were rumors of Ivanisevic leaving Rybakina’s team amid this drama, but Djokovic’s ex-coach confirmed that he will stay as Rybakina’s coach ‘for the moment.’

Certainly, this drama isn’t what Rybakina wanted ahead of the Australian Open. Amid this controversy, Rybakina came to the defense of Vukov.

Elena Rybakina makes a stunning revelation on Stefano Vukov after his suspension

The Kazakh star and Vukov had a successful partnership that lasted almost five years before the two split last year for a brief period. Under Vukov, Rybakina enjoyed some of the best moments of her career, including winning the 2022 Wimbledon Championships and reaching the Australian Open final the following year. As a result, Rybakina was quick to jump to Vukov’s aid after the WTA provisionally suspended him.

During an interview, she said that Vukov never mistreated her during their partnership. Further, she went on to add, “I respect him for everything he did from the very beginning when I was [ranked No.] 200 all the way what we did. Of course, I’m not really happy with the situation. I’m not happy with the comments which I see, especially from the people who are on the tour. It’s active coaches, commentators. I don’t think it’s fair.”

Rybakina continues to work under the watchful eyes of Goran Ivanisevic for the Australian Open. However, things look unsettled as far as her coaching team is concerned, and it remains to be seen if Vukov is cleared of his charges.