MELBOURNE — There is a new feature on show at the Australian Open, often the home of innovation in tennis.
On Rod Laver Arena, players’ coaches will not be sitting in the stands as they usually are. Instead, up to four of a player’s team will be seated on the court itself, tucked away in the corner out of the way, but still in a far more prominent position than usual, just about as close to the action as it is possible to get.
Some coaches are apprehensive about the idea of being quite so exposed, either to the limelight or to the wrath of their boss (the player), but for Goran Ivanisevic, it could create the kind of space he is keen to put between himself and his predecessor Stefano Vukov.
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Read MoreBoth are part of Elena Rybakina’s team, but it is so much more complicated than that – because Vukov is technically suspended from the WTA Tour, pending the results of an investigation into his behaviour.
Vukov started coaching Rybakina in 2019 when she was still outside the top 100. Born and raised in Moscow, she had switched allegiances to Kazakhstan a year earlier after the federation offered her significant financial incentives to do so, while the Russian authorities had plenty of other players they saw as a better prospect to fund.
They were, you have to say, wrong. Under Vukov’s tutelage, Rybakina won her first WTA title in 2019 and broke into the top 100.
By the time of the 2020 tour shutdown, she had rocketed to 17 in the world, knocked 176 places off her ranking in 12 months. In 2022, she won Wimbledon and then reached the Australian Open final in 2023.
It has not all been plain sailing. An apparent chronic condition that causes severe allergic reactions has often left her pulling out of tournaments at the last minute, but she has nevertheless cemented herself as one of the world’s best players: she has not left the top 10 since reaching it nearly two years ago.
So it was to some surprise that she announced late last year that they were splitting in a 33-word statement, simply saying: “After five years, Stefano and I are no longer working together. I thank him for his work on-court and wish him all the best for the future. Thank you all for the support.”
The wheels of the rumour mill turned quickly, suggesting Vukov had been suspended by the tour. The Croatian coach denied them, insisting he was free to coach on tour, but that was quickly refuted.
In January, the WTA Tour confirmed to the New York Times that he had been banned pending the results of a lengthy independent investigation into “a potential breach of the WTA Code of Conduct”, something he strenuously denies.
“As part of the provisional suspension, Mr Vukov is not eligible to obtain a WTA credential at this time,” a spokesperson told the New York Times.
“While the WTA does not typically comment on active investigations, we believe it is necessary to clarify this matter due to recent public statements that misrepresent the situation. We will not provide further details at this point in time.”
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Read MoreRybakina had already revealed that Ivanisevic, who won 12 majors working with Novak Djokovic, would be joining her for the 2025 season – but in a stunning turn of events, announced in January that Vukov would once again be part of her team, despite the suspension.
Fellow WTA coach Pam Shriver, who recently disclosed that she had a “traumatic” relationship with her 50-year-old coach when she was just 17, wrote on X in response: “It’s time for our entire sport to finally stand up to known abuse and cult like manipulations of players.
“This is a very sad situation and my prayers are with ER [Rybakina].”
But Rybakina hit back at the 21-time major doubles champion, insisting Vukov “never mistreated me” and that she was not the complainant who sparked the independent inquiry.
Rybakina said: “She [Shriver] never came to me, never talked with me, but I know her story. It’s sad, but it doesn’t mean other players facing the same issues.
“Since she doesn’t know me, I don’t know her, I don’t think it’s fair to make any comments like that, especially being an active coach, being a commentator, journalist, so on.”
She added: “I don’t agree with a lot of things what WTA do in the sense of my relationship with Stefano. As I said before, I have never made any complaints or any of these things. I always said that he never mistreated me.”
Tennis Australia has confirmed that it will not, in line with the WTA, be issuing Vukov with a credential while he is suspended, but that does not necessarily mean that he will not be present.
Like all players, Rybakina has an allocation of tickets that she can give to friends and family so they can attend her matches, and it is believed that she wants to give Vukov one of those so he can watch.
But Ivanisevic has been the one working with Rybakina on court during practice sessions at Melbourne Park, and – it seems – is not keen on sharing duties with Vukov.
“I am, for the moment, here,” Ivanisevic told Bounces earlier this week.
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Read More“What’s going to happen in a couple of days, I don’t know. But for the moment, I am here. Hopefully I will stay, and hopefully everything is going to be OK.”
Ivanisevic also said he hoped there would be a conclusion to the WTA probe in the coming days, but The i Paper understands that while the investigation is approaching its conclusion, any possible result or sanction is unlikely to be confirmed until after the Australian Open.
It is not the first time, Rybakina has previously had to defend her coach from criticism. After the Australian Open in 2023, she addressed comments made after footage of their interactions went viral on social media.
“I want to clarify any misinterpretations. Stefano has believed in me for many years, before anyone else did,” Rybakina said.
“We plotted a strategy together in how I could achieve great things and his method shows in my grand slam success so far.
“He is a passionate coach, with a lot of knowledge about tennis. Unlike people that are making these comments, he has great knowledge about me as a person and as an athlete.
“Those who know me well, will know that I would never accept a coach that didn’t respect me and all our hard work. I may be quiet on court and in general, but inside me is a competitive athlete that wants to achieve great things and Stefano has helped me greatly in this way.
“So please disregard any fake news to the contrary.”
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