Stefano Vukov
Vukov in 2023
Country (sports) Croatia
Born (1987-03-27) 27 March 1987
Rijeka, Croatia
Turned pro2003
Retired2009
PlaysRight-handed
Prize money$10,805[1]
Singles
Highest rankingNo. 1122 (2 April 2007)[1]
Doubles
Highest rankingNo. 621 (5 February 2007)[1]
Coaching career
Elena Rybakina (2019–)
Coaching achievements
Coachee singles titles total6
List of notable tournaments
(with champion)

2022 Wimbledon (Rybakina)

Stefano Vukov (born 27 March 1987)[1] is a Croatian tennis coach and former player. He has coached Women's Tennis Association (WTA) player Elena Rybakina since 2019.

Early life and playing career

Vukov was born in Rijeka, Croatia in 1987. His mother is a dentist and his father is a software engineer.[2][3] He started playing tennis at age 12, but his family prioritized education, so he graduated from college while continuing to aspire to 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 from playing in 2009.[1][5] A couple years after that, he began to professionally coach at a tennis facility in Florida, working with future WTA Tour players such as Sachia Vickery, Renata Zarazúa, and Anhelina Kalinina.[2]

Coaching career

Left to right: Yaroslava Shvedova, Elena Rybakina, and Vukov at Wimbledon 2022

In February 2019, Elena Rybakina, then ranked just within the WTA's top 200, hired Vukov to replace Moscow-based coach 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, cracking 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 at the 2023 Australian Open, where she eventually lost in the final 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 and that she appreciates his input.[12][13]

References

  1. 1 2 3 4 5 "Stefano Vukov". Association of Tennis Professionals. Retrieved 16 March 2023.
  2. 1 2 3 4 5 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.
  3. 1 2 Ozmo, Sasa (9 July 2022). "Stefano Vukov, Rybakina's coach: 'She belongs here'". tennismajors.com. Retrieved 16 March 2023.
  4. ↑ "Stefano Vukov Tennis Player Profile". itftennis.com. International Tennis Federation. Retrieved 16 March 2023.
  5. 1 2 Gomes, Alaric (9 May 2020). "Tennis: Elena Rybakina tipped to become future world No. 1". Gulf News. Retrieved 16 March 2023.
  6. ↑ 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.
  7. 1 2 Nguyen, Courtney (22 January 2020). "Getting to Know: Elena Rybakina's rocket rise". wtatennis.com. Women's Tennis Association. Retrieved 16 March 2023.
  8. ↑ 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.
  9. ↑ "Rybakina's coach gets tattoo to honour her Wimbledon win". Reuters. 25 August 2022. Retrieved 16 March 2023.
  10. 1 2 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.
  11. ↑ 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.
  12. ↑ 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.
  13. ↑ McElwee, Molly (29 January 2023). "Elena Rybakina: Stop criticising my coach for shouting at me". The Telegraph. Retrieved 16 March 2023.
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