Goran Ivanisevic has spoken out after it emerged that the WTA had provisionally suspended Elena Rybakina‘s other coach, Stefano Vukov.
Rybakina split with Vukov ahead of the US Open last August. In November, she announced Ivanisevic would begin coaching her. He was seen in her corner at the recent United Cup.
Last week, Rybakina announced Vukov would be returning to her team.
Things became messy when The Athletic revealed that the WTA confirmed Vukov was provisionally suspended while under investigation for a breach of the tour’s Code of Conduct.
As a result, he cannot apply for credentials for any WTA Tour event. Tennis Australia will also not grant him accreditation as a coach.
Ivanisevic was said to have been “blindsided” by Rybakina’s decision to rehire Vukov. The Croatian tennis coach has now broken his silence following suggestions that he could leave the world No 6’s team.
“Listen, the investigation is still on, so we wait for WTA to finish, and then I can talk about everything,” Ivanisevic told Bounces. “But until then… I spoke to Elena; I told her what I think.”
As for his future with Rybakina, the 53-year-old seems to be awaiting the conclusion of the WTA’s investigation into Vukov. Ivanisevic added: “I am, for the moment, here.
“What’s going to happen in a couple of days, I don’t know. But for the moment, I am here. Hopefully I will stay, and hopefully everything is going to be OK. But let’s take day by day.”
Rybakina is the first player Ivanisevic has worked with since he parted ways with Novak Djokovic last March. He coached the Serb to 12 of his 24 Major titles.
When Rybakina announced that Ivanisevic would be joining her team, she seemed optimistic about their future. “It’s just very interesting for me. I want to learn,” she said during the WTA Finals.
“Yeah, I’m just looking forward. As we just said, it’s something new for me. Also I’ve been with one coach for long time. I want to learn.”
Ivanisevic started his new job during the off-season, helping Rybakina train in Dubai, and flew to Australia to continue working with her at the United Cup.
He got stuck in – donning the Kazakh team shirt and sitting on the bench for the 25-year-old’s matches as Kazakhstan reached the semi-final.
But his future now hangs in the balance, with his collaboration with Rybakina seemingly depending on whether Vukov could become her head coach once again.
Content Source: www.express.co.uk