Stefano Vukov (born 27 March 1987) is a Croatian tennis coach. He coached Women's Tennis Association (WTA) player Elena Rybakina from 2019 to 2024.
 Vukov at the 2023 French Open | |
| Country (sports) |  Croatia |
|---|---|
| Born | 27 March 1987[1] Rijeka, Croatia |
| Turned pro | 2003 |
| Retired | 2009 |
| Plays | Right-handed |
| Prize money | $10,805[1] |
| Singles | |
| Highest ranking | No. 1122 (2 April 2007)[1] |
| Doubles | |
| Highest ranking | No. 621 (5 February 2007)[1] |
| Coaching career | |
Elena Rybakina (2019–2024) | |
| Coaching achievements | |
| Coachee singles titles total | 8 |
| List of notable tournaments (with champion) 2022 Wimbledon (Rybakina) | |
Early life and playing career
editVukov was born in Rijeka, Croatia. His mother is a dentist and his father is a software engineer.[2][3] He started playing tennis at age 12 and went to attend college while aspiring to play professional tennis.[2][4] Vukov played mostly on the ITF Futures Circuit, reaching a career-high Association of Tennis Professionals (ATP) ranking of No. 1122 in 2007, and retired in 2009.[1][5] A couple years later, he began to coach professionally at a tennis facility in Florida, working with future WTA Tour players including Sachia Vickery, Renata Zarazúa, and Anhelina Kalinina.[2]
Coaching career
edit
In February 2019, Elena Rybakina, then ranked just within the WTA's top 200, hired Vukov to replace Moscow-based Andrei Chesnokov as her first traveling coach.[5][6][7] Rybakina credited Vukov, known for his analytic expertise, with helping to improve her game; she rose quickly through the rankings, entering the top 30 and winning her first two WTA Tour titles by early the next year.[2][7][8] After Rybakina won her first major title at the 2022 Wimbledon Championships, Vukov followed through on a two-year-old bet to get a tattoo of Rybakina's name if she ever won Wimbledon.[9][10]
Vukov's "frantic and intense" style of on-court coaching of the typically stoical Rybakina has drawn attention.[10] Vukov has said he "know[s] very well how to get Elena angry" to energize her and how to help her tactically focus, with a mutual understanding "to push her even when she does not want to be pushed", but recognizes that to outsiders it can seem like "too much".[2][3][11] During Rybakina's run to the final of the 2023 Australian Open, where she eventually lost to Aryna Sabalenka, Vukov attracted public criticism for his seemingly harsh midmatch comments from the player's box. In a social media post, Rybakina defended Vukov, saying that their relationship remains positive.[12][13]
Rybakina played well throughout 2024, winning three titles, but also missed multiple big events due to illness. She announced that she and Vukov had split ahead of the US Open.[14]
References
edit- ^ a b c d e "Stefano Vukov". Association of Tennis Professionals. Retrieved 16 March 2023.
- ^ a b c d e Nguyen, Courtney (9 April 2020). "Coaching Dossier: Stefano Vukov - 'It's a 24-hour job'". wtatennis.com. Women's Tennis Association. Retrieved 16 March 2023.
- ^ a b Ozmo, Sasa (9 July 2022). "Stefano Vukov, Rybakina's coach: 'She belongs here'". tennismajors.com. Retrieved 16 March 2023.
- ^ "Stefano Vukov Tennis Player Profile". itftennis.com. International Tennis Federation. Retrieved 16 March 2023.
- ^ a b Gomes, Alaric (9 May 2020). "Tennis: Elena Rybakina tipped to become future world No. 1". Gulf News. Retrieved 16 March 2023.
- ^ Cox, David (22 January 2020). "Elena Rybakina: Getting to know the 'anonymous' yet in-form No.29 seed". ausopen.com. Australian Open. Retrieved 16 March 2023.
- ^ a b Nguyen, Courtney (22 January 2020). "Getting to Know: Elena Rybakina's rocket rise". wtatennis.com. Women's Tennis Association. Retrieved 16 March 2023.
- ^ Nguyen, Courtney (7 June 2021). "How analytics helped Rybakina neutralize Serena at the French Open". wtatennis.com. Women's Tennis Association. Retrieved 16 March 2023.
- ^ "Rybakina's coach gets tattoo to honour her Wimbledon win". Reuters. 25 August 2022. Retrieved 16 March 2023.
- ^ a b Carayol, Tumaini (24 August 2022). "Elena Rybakina: 'My coach got a tattoo of my name. It's crazy but we had a bet'". The Guardian. Retrieved 16 March 2023.
- ^ Ozmo, Sasa (24 January 2023). "Exclusive – Rybakina's coach, Stefano Vukov: 'Elena didn't get all the things you usually get from winning a Grand Slam title'". tennismajors.com. Retrieved 16 March 2023.
- ^ Tiernan, Eamonn (27 January 2023). "'She stopped playing': Coach fires back at accusations he used new rules to berate Aus Open finalist". Fox Sports (Australia). Retrieved 16 March 2023.
- ^ McElwee, Molly (29 January 2023). "Elena Rybakina: Stop criticising my coach for shouting at me". The Telegraph. Retrieved 16 March 2023.
- ^ Oddo, Chris (22 August 2024). "Rybakina Parts Ways with Longtime Coach Stefano Vukov". TennisNow.com. Retrieved 22 August 2024.
