"Terrible & not at all surprising, f**k these abusive coaches" - Fans outrage as shocking claims about Elena Rybakina's ex-coach Vukov come to light

Recent reports regarding Elena Rybakina's health issues and the dismissal of her coach, Stefano Vukov, have sparked controversy among tennis fans. Tennis journalist Sonya Tartakova made a controversial claim during an interview on the YouTube channel "Tennis Bloshei," suggesting that Rybakina's injury concerns are psychosomatic rather than physiological.

Tartakova claimed that the reasons Rybakina gave for withdrawing from tournaments were not the real ones. She also claimed that former Wimbledon champion's ex-coach Vukov put a lot of pressure on her. She further added that Rybakina's family helped her navigate the crisis and break the vicious cycle.

Fans were left shocked by the interview and took to X (formerly Twitter) to express their opinions on the situation. One fan stated they were not surprised by the chain of events but hoped Rybakina would recover well.

"Terrible and sadly not at all surprising, I hope she's able to recover. it's clear just how severe and detrimental this situation must have been to cause elena physical issues. f**k these abusive coaches," one fan wrote.

Another fan weighed in on the mental stress the Kazakh could be under.

"That’s terrible if true 🫤 You don’t recover mentally from such a situation in a short time. It took a long period of chronic stress to cause her to be in such state, so it will also take some time for her to get better," said another.

Another fan slammed tennis fans for criticizing Elena Rybakina for frequently withdrawing without understanding the full picture.

"And for those wondering if Elena is mentally destroyed, why does she have physical issues too? Poor mental health does affect you physically. As someone who has battled depression in the past, I can attest to this. Poor Elena, she needs everyone's support now more than ever! 🙏🫂," another wrote.

Here are a few more reactions:

"Vukov when i catch you you’re dead," wrote another.

"Dear god, please take all of elena's pain and give it to vukov," one fan chimed in.

"so sad and unfortunately not surprising… i’m glad people around elena helped her get out of this relationship and giving how much of the story they had together makes sense she’s under a lot of stress rni hope our girl will recover, be healthy and happy 🩷 we’ll be waiting," said another.

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Elena Rybakina's injury-marred season

Elena Rybakina at the Cincinnati Open 2024 (Image via Getty)

Elena Rybakina has had a slew of withdrawals during the 2024 season. She was forced to concede her quarterfinal match at the Dubai Tennis Championships due to gastrointestinal illness.

The 2022 Wimbledon champion also withdrew from the Indian Wells Open due to the same issue. She also pulled out of the Italian Open, citing an undisclosed injury. Next, she retired mid-match at the 2024 Berlin Open, again, due to an undisclosed illness.

She also withdrew from the Paris Olympics 2024 due to acute bronchitis. The Kazakh also failed to compete in the second round of the US Open. Recently, she also pulled out of the China Open.