Elena Rybakina announces new addition to coaching staff

Kazakhstan’s tennis star Elena Rybakina has strengthened her coaching staff with a new hire. The 25-year-old, who is regarded as one of the most talented players currently playing in women’s tennis in the singles category, has received some criticism regarding her dealings with the coaching staff, largely because of her relationship with her former coach, Stefano Vukov.

The 37-year-old has been working with Rybakina since 2019 but had a turbulent time off late, leading to their partnership's end. During his time away from the coaching staff of the one-time Grand Slam winner, Vukov was provisionally suspended by the WTA for allegedly breaching the code of conduct.

After ending the partnership with Vukov, Rybakina decided to hire Ivanisevic, the former coach of legendary tennis star Novak Djokovic. However, Vukovic returned to the mix, which led to the former Wimbledon winner's departure. There were reports in the media that Ivanisevic was unhappy with the former Croatia player's return.

Because of off-court issues, the one-time Grand Slam winner's form has been affected on the court, where she has found it hard to have an extended run in any event. This year, she has played in six different WTA events but has never managed to play in the final of any competition. She is now set to lose a spot in the top-10 of the WTA rankings after deciding to withdraw from the ongoing WTA 500 event — Stuttgart Open. She lifted the title last year after beating Ukraine’s Marta Kostyuk in the final in straight sets with a score of 6-2, 6-2.

In the midst of all of this, Rybakina has decided to strengthen the coaching department by hiring strength and conditioning coach Aldo Chiari. She announced the development in a post on her official account on the social media platform Instagram with a caption: "Welcome to the team.”