Pam Shriver wildly speculates abuse, worried for Elena Rybakina after Kazakh re-hires controversial coach Stefano Vukov

Pam Shriver recently laid bare her concern for Elena Rybakina after the Kazakh confirmed the return of coach Stefano Vukov to her team for the 2025 season. Shriver speculated that Vukov had abused Rybakina during their previous working collaboration.

On January 1, 2025, Rybakina made the announcement of Vukov rejoining her coaching setup via an Instagram Story.

"Hello everyone, I am excited to announce that Stefano will be joining the team for the 2025 season. Thank you all for the support 🙌 And wishing you a great 2025 ❤️"

This development was later reported by a popular tennis page on X (formerly Twitter), which prompted American former World No. 3 Pam Shriver to deliver her reaction. The 62-year-old bemoaned the situation, speculating abuse directed at Rybakina by Vukov previously.

"It’s time for our entire sport to finally stand up to known abuse and cult like manipulations of players. This is a very sad situation and my prayers are with ER," Shriver wrote.

In the buildup to the 2024 US Open, Rybakina parted ways with Vukov following a successful five-year collaboration that yielded all eight of the Kazakh's WTA Tour-level titles so far, including the 2022 Wimbledon Championships women's singles crown. Not long after, Rybakina announced that former ATP No. 2 and Novak Djokovic's ex-coach Goran Ivanisevic would be coaching her in 2025.

Rybakina and Vukov's previous working relationship was often speculated to be an unhealthy one. There were rumors of Vukov being excessively tough in his approach to coaching Rybakina, during both matches and training sessions. These rumors gained further traction last year after the Kazakh withdrew from a number of high-profile tournaments citing health concerns.

However, Rybakina herself downplayed the speculation surrounding her relationship with Vukov ahead of the 2024 WTA Finals.

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Elena Rybakina dismissed controversial suggestions regarding relationship with Stefano Vukov

In Picture: Elena Rybakina (Source: Getty)

At a pre-tournament press conference in the buildup to the 2024 WTA Finals, Elena Rybakina spoke up about the rumors that cast doubt on her relationship with Stefano Vukov. The former World No. 3 was dismissive of them and stated that her decision to replace Vukov with Ivanisevic stemmed from her desire to enter a new phase in her career.

"I know that a lot of I guess rumors going on. But honestly we just part ways with Stefano. I think we had incredible results over five years. We achieved a lot. I started with him when I was 200. I think it's just now next chapter of my career. I want to make next step. But yeah, I did stop with Stefano, like as any other coaches and players do," Rybakina said.

The Kazakh is yet to reveal how the working dynamic in her team will change now that she has brought Vukov back into the fold. Right now, Rybakina is enjoying a hot streak at the ongoing 2025 United Cup, where she has spearheaded Kazakhstan to the semifinals.