"What is he trying to do? He's totally wrong": Fans slam Elena Rybakina's controversial coach Stefano Vukov over 'embarrassing' display at Ningbo Open

Elena Rybakina has started practicing with coach Stefano Vukov for the Ningbo Open that will run from October 13 to 19, 2025, at Yinzhou Tennis Center in Ningbo, China. She is given the third seed in the tournament behind Russia's Mirra Andreeva and Italy's Jasmine Paolini.

On Tuesday, an X account posted a video from Rybakina's practice session with Vukov. In the video, Vukov took it upon himself to teach Kazakhstan's tennis star, who, like a ballboy, was watching him smash forehands from behind.

"When we have a hyperactive coach 😬😂✌️" the post was captioned.

Seeing this training session, several fans took a dig at Stefano Vukov, who returned to coaching in Aug. as the WTA lifted his suspension for an alleged code of conduct violation.

"Elena watching Vukov play "tennis"" one fan added a meme. "Shitty as a player as a coach as a person as a partner, dawg can we get rid of this waste of oxygen please?" one fan said. "What is he trying to do!? He s totally wrong in his service moves!! Let Elena show you !!" one fan wrote. "He s showing how to not play tennis" one fan commented.

Reactions continued along the same lines as several took dig at Vukov's personal achievements in tennis.

"This is why he never reached higher than 105 !! he was always bad!!" one fan posted. "Vukov wouldn’t win a single game off me in a tennis match. Embarrassing for Elena" another fan commented. "He looks like he was just introduced to a racquet and a tennis ball. His highest ranking as a player was 1122 or something, he sucks. He should've never been near coaching let alone ruin an elite player. Abuser creep!" one fan wrote.

Vukov is a former Croatian tennis player. He started coaching Elena Rybakina in 2019 and was with her when she won the 2022 Wimbledon championship.

Controversy related to Elena Rybakina's coach Stefano Vukov

Earlier in 2025, the WTA suspended Stefano Vukov after allegations were placed against him for violating the tour's code of conduct. The WTA's investigation concluded that Vukov's behavior towards Rybakina included derogatory remarks and excessive physical and mental demands.

This allegedly led to burnout and illness in Rybakina. According to Tennis.com, Vukov had called Rybakina "stupid" and made her cry. The suspension from WTA included a one-year coaching ban and undergo proper training regarding behaviour. Though he was banned, Vukov continued to coach Rybakina away from official events.

When he returned to coaching in August after suspension was lifted, Rybakina was happy to see him back in the box. In late August, she said:

“It’s just nice to see him in the box. We obviously have good communication. We never had issue, so…”

After things didn't work out with the new coach, Goran Ivanisevic, it remains to be seen if Rybakina can get back to winning ways after reuniting with Vukov.

Edited by Krutik Jain