"Complete mess";"Used Novak Djokovic's former coach as a tool"- Fans tear into Elena Rybakina after she defends Stefano Vukov amid mistreatment rumors

Elena Rybakina has caught the ire of tennis fans after she came out with a bold defense of her new coach Stefano Vukov at the 2025 Australian Open. Rybakina's comments came in light of certain speculations from former WTA player and Donna Vekic's current coach Pam Shriver, who made accusations of mistreatment against Vukov.

Rybakina and Vukov's reunion has become the talk of the tennis world over the last week or so, with several fans already confused about the new arrangement with coach Goran Ivanisevic already in the mix. To make things worse, the WTA announced that Vukov was banned from coaching on the tour, leading many to wonder what he will now do in Rybakina's team.

On top of all this, Shriver made a passing remark about 'abuse' in the relationship between the pair, which turned controversial on social media. Speaking at her press conference, Rybakina addressed the accusation, saying:

"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 commentator, journalist."

"I have never made any complaints or any of these things. I always said that he never mistreated me."

Fans on social media, however, thought her comments solved none of the original concerns, and labeled the whole situation 'strange' and 'a complete mess.' They also felt bad for Ivanisevic being caught in the middle of the controversy, lamenting Rybakina should never have hired him in the first place.

"This is all so strange. What and who to believe. What it looks like though is that we have a player under a lot of stress and Pam and others should be more concerned about her than their need to jump the gun “reporting” without talking directly to her," one fan said.

"Complete mess. Why do you hire Goran is you want Vukov back? Then dont be surprised with all the questions and the whole thing being suspicious to everybody. Makes zero sense," another wrote.

"I was a fan of her but this is too much. She literally used Djokovic's former coach as a tool to fight Vukov's suspension. Can't be her supporter any longer," one commented.

Fans also hoped the WTA would offer more information on why Vukov was suspended first, which they hoped would clear some of the confusion around the situation.

"At this point Goran should throw in the towel, she's beyond help," one fan said.

"Why exactly did WTA suspend Vukov?Without knowing that, how can someone blame one or the other? Maybe she is in complete denial (Stockholm syndrome) or the WTA is accusing Vukov unfairly. To determine that you need to know what even happened in the first place," another wrote.

"Even worse when you notice she’s been in decline and possibly wasting her career. She’s fallen back to No. 7 in the rankings, and the last time she was ranked that low was when she won her last “big title”. Hasn’t been able to win anything outside of small events last year," one replied.

Elena Rybakina to start Australian Open 2025 campaign against Aussie wildcard

2025 Australian Open Previews - Source: Getty

At the 2025 Australian Open, Elena Rybakina will start her campaign against Aussie wildcard Emerson Jones. Seeded No. 6, the Kazakh is playing on Monday.

Rybakina is likely to face No.10 seed Danielle Collins in the fourth round, her first biggest threat in the tournament. She has been placed in the same half as No. 2 seed Iga Swiatek, and could meet the five-time Grand Slam champion in the semifinals.