Ivanisevic "caught off guard" by Rybakina's recent decision

Last night, the WTA, in association with Tennis Australia, announced that Stefano Vukov, ex-coach of Elena Rybakina and announced to return to her clan for the 2025 season, has been provisionally suspended for breaching the code of conduct.

This announcement came as a bit of a bombshell, given that Elena Rybakina had decided to part company with Vukov in August 2024, before announcing his return to her team on January 1.

And while the Kazakh player had enlisted Goran Ivanisevic as head coach for the new season in November, Vukov's return clearly came as a surprise to the former Wimbledon winner, as revealed by the New York Times :

"Ivanisevic, who has a short-term contract (not unusual in the tennis world), was caught off guard by Rybakina's announcement, according to sources who were present at the player's recent events.

Their partnership became strained after the announcement of Vukov's return, just a few weeks after Ivanisevic began working with her."

The situation therefore remains extremely unclear surrounding Ivanisevic and this collaboration with Rybakina, which had barely begun.