"No respect" - Shriver, Bartoli criticize Rybakina's coach
The rough tone that coach Stefano Vukov maintains with Elena Rybakina pissed off some ex-WTA professionals.
by tennisnet.com
last edit:
Feb 02, 2023, 12:23 pm
Success justifies the means. Elena Rybakina's response to the behavior of her coach Stefano Vukov can be understood in a similar way. "We developed a strategy together on how I can achieve great things," Rybakina explained during the Australian Open 2023, where she only failed in the final against Aryna Sabalenka. "And his method brought me success in the Grand Slam tournaments. He is a passionate coach with a lot of knowledge about tennis.”
Far too passionate for Pam Shriver, former top player in singles and especially in doubles (together with Martina Navratilova).
"As I watch Rybakina try to win her second major in seven months, I hope she finds a coach who will treat her with the utmost respect and talk to her. And that she doesn't accept anything less," tweeted Shriver, who herself coached Donna Vekic in Melbourne.
Bartoli with harsh criticism
Marion Bartoli, 2013 Wimbledon champion, went one step further. "The way Rybakina's coach talks to her on court is something I cannot accept. I just can't do it anymore," Bartoli said on the Match Point podcast.
"To see someone addressing you so harshly in a negative way - and I've seen that in many other events in the past, when I was with Yelena Ostapenko, when Rybakina also played these tournaments, on training grounds without cameras - he is behaving in such a way that I cannot accept it,” concluded Bartoli.