“How disrespectful it was to Elena Rybakina” – Fans hype coach Vukov up as US Open title win brings back abuse allegation saga
Elena Rybakina’s coach Stefano Vukov found himself in the spotlight after the former’s US Open victory brought back discussion surrounding the abuse allegations against him. Rybakina saw off her Australian Open final-round opponent Aryna Sabalenka 6-4, 5-7, 6-2 on Saturday to lift the US Open title.
Rybakina and Coach Vukov’s professional relationship began in 2019, when the Kazakhstani tennis player was ranked just inside the WTA top 200. She rose to No. 1 under his guidance and won her first Major title at the 2022 Wimbledon Championships. The coach-player relationship has always been a part of the discussion after Vukov faced allegations of verbal and emotional abuse towards Rybakina.
In 2024, the tennis player announced her split with him. A year later, he again joined her team. The WTA investigated alleged violations of the code of conduct by Vukov, and handed a provisional suspension. Rybakina stood by her coach throughout the difficult time. However, the relationship became a subject of constant debate.
However, following her US Open win and rise to World No. 1, fans celebrated the coach and hit back at the trolls. A fan highlighted Elena Rybakina’s growth under Coach Vukov and wrote:
“The WTA banned Elena Rybakina’s coach, Stefano Vukov, for 8 months last year because Pam Shriver thought he was emotionally abusing her. Rybakina and Vukov denied all of the allegations. On his return, Rybakina has now won the AO title, USO title, and become the world No. 1!”
Another fan said it was disrespectful towards Elena Rybakina, and praised her intelligence and judgment.
“How incredibly disrespectful it was to Elena Rybakina and her judgment and her intelligence that although by all evidence she is a smart, well adjusted person & even though she insisted nothing of the kind happened, her own first hand evidence was rejected out of hand as if it did not matter!”
Another fan simply noted that Coach Vukov deserves the Coach of the Year Award and penned:
“In a just world, Stefano Vukov is the 2026 WTA Coach of the year. 🎉
Here are a few more reactions:
Stefano Vukov = Coach of the Year
@pavyg Best coach in the world by far without this dude she was losing left right and center to bad bad players. she was horrendous that period. Shes now back to her absolute best.
@pavyg They tried their absolute best to DERAIL her career but she prevailed
