Elena Rybakina's coach Goran Ivanisevic won't stand for her 'dysfunctional relationship' with Stefano Vukov, says Serena Williams' ex-coach

According to Serena Williams' ex-coach Rennae Stubbs, Elena Rybakina's ongoing controversy surrounding Stefano Vukov will not be tolerated by Goran Ivanisevic. The controversy has cast a dark shadow over the start of Rybakina's 2025 season, with the Australian Open fast approaching.

Stubbs, who coached Serena Williams for the 2022 US Open, recently opined on The Rennae Stubbs Tennis Podcast that Rybakina is finding her relationship with Vukov hard to deal with.

"Clearly she is struggling with this relationship with him, whatever that may be, and wanting to bring him back. I can tell you right now, Goran's not going to stand for it," Stubbs said (7:18).

The Kazakh had initially parted ways with Vukov ahead of the 2024 US Open and then roped in Goran Ivanisevic as her new coach for the 2025 season. However, in a shocking turn of recent events, the WTA announced an ongoing investigation into and a provisional ban on Vukov, a day after Rybakina controversially announced Vukov's reappointment.

Futhermore, The Athletic report published on The New York Times that broke the news of the WTA investigation into Vukov and his subsequent ban suggested that Ivanisevic was kept in the dark by Rybakina when it came to making him aware of Vukov's reappointment. Stubbs opined that Ivanisevic is likely to leave the Kazakh's camp given the controversial circumstances.

"Absolutely not. If you want to be in a dysfunctional relationship, that's on you, but for someone like Goran, he's not going to stick around for that," Stubbs added.

Ivanisevic himself gave a recent interview, during which he was unwilling to share too much about the future of his collaboration with Rybakina.

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Goran Ivanesevic remains tight-lipped regarding long-term future as Elena Rybakina's coach

In Picture: Goran Ivanisevic (Source: Getty)

Recently, Goran Ivanisevic told prominent tennis insider and journalist Ben Rothenberg that his decision to continue as Elena Rybakina's coach will rest on the outcome of the ongoing WTA investigation into Stefano Vukov. Ivanisevic also refused to open up about Rybakina reportedly blindsiding him to Vukov's reappointment.

"Listen, the investigation is still on, so we wait for WTA to finish, and then I can talk about everything. But until then… I spoke to Elena; I told her what I think. Listen, I don't want to…—heh, It's a very strange situation. So I don't want to, really. I can talk to you after WTA makes the decision, and then we can," Ivanisevic told Rothenberg.

Elena Rybakina's last on-court outing came at the 2025 United Cup, where she spearheaded Kazakhstan's run to the semifinals.