Goran Ivanisevic makes shocking announcement about future with Elena Rybakina amid banned coach Stefano Vukov's controversy

The Elena Rybakina-Goran Ivanisevic partnership came to an end as the Croatian announced his departure from the Kazakh player's team on Tuesday, January 21. This comes on the back of Rybakina's loss in the fourth round at the ongoing Australian Open.

In November 2024, the World No. 6 secured the services of Ivanisevic, who came off a successful partnership with Novak Djokovic. This decision came after Rybakina ended her controversial collaboration with her former coach Stefano Vukov earlier that year.

The new coaching partnership seemed to be working, as Rybakina had a decent outing at the United Cup. At the Australian Open, the sixth seed began her campaign with dominant wins over Emerson Jones, Iva Jovic, and Dayana Yastremska and reached the fourth round. After a tough three-set battle, she lost to 19th-seeded Madison Keys.

Just a couple of days after her defeat, Ivanisevic posted a message on his Instagram, sharing the news that the coaching partnership was over as it was on a trial basis till the Melbourne Major. The now-former coach wished Rybakina and her team good luck in future endeavors.

"After our trial period that finished with Australian Open, I wish Elena and her team best of luck moving forward." posted Ivanisevic on his Instagram story.

Goran Ivanisevic announced his split with Elena Rybakina, (Source: https://www.instagram.com/stories/goranivanisevicofficial/)

The Elena Rybakina camp is yet to announce any formal replacements for Ivanisevic for the rest of the season.

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"I wanted to have who I wanted to have in the box"- Elena Rybakina on her former coach Stefano Vukov

In picture: Elena Rybakina (Getty)

When Elena Rybkina announced her rejoining Stefano Vukov as her coach again, the WTA made a formal announcement the next day, citing Vukov's violation of the WTA Tour's code of conduct. It means he is ineligible to coach any player on the Tour and is being subjected to a suspension. This did not allow Vukov to be a part of the Kazakh player's team at the Australian Open.

After her loss to Madison Keys, Rybakina was asked if she would have preferred Vukov in her corner. In her answer, the World No. 6 said that she would have liked her former coach to be present, but she had Ivanisevic for the time being. She also added that she had been in communication with Vukov.

"As I said before, this is not the situation I want to be in. Of course, I wanted to have who I wanted to have in the box, but I couldn't change it and at the end of the day I just tried to focus on my matches and I spoke with him (Vukov). I also have Goran, so it didn't affect the way I played today or any of the results,” said Rybakina in her press conference.

Several former players like Pam Shriver and Rennae Stubbs have previously come out in support of Rybakina, favoring the Vukov split.