Elena Rybakina, a native of Moscow, first asserted herself among adults in 2018, when she reached the quarterfinals of the WTA tournament in St. Petersburg. But serious success came to her after she joined the Kazakhstan national team.
Elena Rybakina upset the odds to beat Jabeur 3-6 6-2 6-2 to become the first Grand Slam winner from Kazakhstan. Although it’s hard to call Rybakina a very young tennis player by today’s standards, she became the youngest Wimbledon champion in 11 years – in 2011, 21-year-old Petra Kvitova took the lead on the courts of the All England Lawn Tennis and Croquet Club.
Who is Elena Rybakina’s Coach in 2023?
Stefano Vukov
Elena Rybakina is currently under the coaching of Stefano Vukov, who has worked with several tennis players in the past. Anhelina Kalinina, a Ukrainian player ranked world No 34, was Vukov’s first mentee. She introduced him to Rybakina, with whom he started working at the start of 2019
Stefano Vukov is a former Croatian tennis player who played in ITF Men’s World Tennis events, as well as the ITF Futures Tour. He was born on March 27, 1987, and achieved his career-high ranking of world no. 1122 in singles.
Stefano was born in Rijeka, and he spent little of his childhood there. His parents relocated because of the war, so he didn’t spend much time in Croatia. He played at Futures and Challenger level for 15 years in Italy before going to college in Miami, where he finished his education.
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As Vukov confessed he was not trying to be an authoritarian coach, he tried to listen to Rybakina, to adapt to the tennis player, and not to make her fulfill all his demands thoughtlessly. At the same time, Elena spoke very respectfully of Stefano saying that she learned much about tennis from him.
Such interaction between mentor and player quickly paid off – in 2019 Elena took the title in Bucharest and was nominated for the WTA Rookie of the Year, in 2020 she won the tournament in Hobart.
“I think there’s always room for improvement. She can move even better, she can get stronger, she can get more explosive… I would like to see her at the net more often, but she’s making progress, which I’m very happy about. Overall, she has a great backhand, both cross and line, and her forehand is getting better as well” – said Vukov in an interview.
Video: Stefano Vukov on-court coaching Elena Rybakina
Elena Rybakina former coaches
Andrey Chesnokov
Elena began playing tennis when she was very young, leaving the Dynamo Sports Club for the Spartak Tennis Club and working with numerous instructors.
Andrey Chesnokov, a former top-10 player who previously worked with Elena Vesnina. However, Chesnokov could not accompany Elena on her trips, so she eventually decided to refuse his services in 2019.
Irina Kiseleva, a World Championship gold medalist in modern pentathlon, was one of her fitness instructors. Elena didn’t get individual training until she was a junior, when she practiced with a group of eight players until age 15 and four players after that.
She only played tennis for two hours each day, and she exercised for three hours a day. She had to balance tennis with schoolwork since she attended a general high school rather than a sports academy, limiting her time on the court.
Elena Rybakina’s achievements with different coaches
We have collected in the table the data about the trophies won by Elena Rybakina under the guidance of various coaches.
| Coach | Years Of Cooperation | Title |
| Stefano Vukov | 2019-Present | 2023 – Indian Wells
2022 – Wimbledon 2020 – Hobart 2019 – Bucharest |
Related: Who is John Isner’s Coach Right Now
