2013 Wimbledon champion Marion Bartoli believes Elena Rybakina is being treated unacceptably by Stefano Vukov, even after the 2023 Australian Open finalist released a statement in which she showed public support for her coach.
During Rybakina’s Australian Open semifinal match against Victoria Azarenka, Pam Shriver shared strong words for coach Vukov, saying he was acting in an unacceptable way and called for Rybakina to find a coach who would treat her with more respect.
“The way Rybakina’s coach is talking to Rybakina on the court is just not something I can accept. I just can’t take that any more. I sincerely hope for her sake and for her to be able to continue that game that she will be able to find a coach that talks with respect to her no matter what the result is because she is really trying her hardest on the court.
To see someone going hard at her in such a negative way – and I’ve seen that in the past myself, much more at events when I was with Jelena Ostapenko when she was playing those events as well, in some practice courts when there is no cameras – he is behaving in some ways I can’t accept,” Bartoli said on the latest episode of Tennis Majors’ “Match Points.”
Bartoli calls out Vukov, even after Rybakina’s public support
Shriver’s tweet drew lots of attention and coach Vukov started receiving major criticism.
The day after losing the Australian Open final, Rybakina released a statement regarding Shriver’s comments. Rybakina didn’t directly mention Shriver but it was clear that she was referring to the comments the American made about her coach.
In her statement, Rybakina called for “disregard of any fake news.” “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,” Rybakina said.
