Elena Rybakina’s US Open triumph elevates her to world No 1, consolidating a rapid rise while leaving an unresolved question over the role of her coach, Stefano Vukov. The 27-year-old added a second grand slam title this year and further evidence to a season that has transformed her standing among the game’s elite.
Rybakina’s recent run has repeatedly pinned her opposite Aryna Sabalenka, with victories in the Australian Open and US Open finals and a straight-sets win at last November’s WTA Finals. That sequence of results has turned a player once viewed as a single-slam winner into a three-time champion and the new top-ranked player, and has put her one French Open victory from a career grand slam.
Her profile as an all-surface player has strengthened. After critics once flagged serve and movement as potential weaknesses on clay, Rybakina’s record includes the Rome WTA 1,000 title in 2023 and five clay-court titles overall, compared with eight on hard courts. A recovery from health problems and injuries that triggered multiple withdrawals and retirements across 2024 and 2025 has been central to that advance.
At the same time, the relationship with Vukov remains under public scrutiny. The WTA concluded, after an investigation, that Vukov had engaged in abusive conduct, and he was banned from coaching at WTA tournaments. That provisional suspension, issued in January 2025, was overturned on appeal the following August, allowing him to rejoin Rybakina’s on-site team.
Rybakina has been openly critical of the WTA since the provisional suspension. After the WTA Finals win she refused to pose for a photo with the now former WTA chief executive Portia Archer. On the eve of the US Open final she framed the restoration of her full team as crucial to her performance, saying, "I think that now I have a very good team around me, good people."
Vukov’s past on-court interactions drew widespread criticism for being negative and relentless in their nitpicking. Since his return he appears to have shifted towards encouragement and tactical input, a change observers attribute either to deliberate adaptation or greater awareness of microphones in the players’ box. The silence from Rybakina’s camp around the final stood in contrast to Sabalenka’s team, whose Anton Dubrov, Max Mirnyi and Jason Stacy held a press conference to preview the match.
Rybakina’s on-court dominance suggests she will remain a driving force in women’s tennis, and Vukov is now widely viewed as a candidate for coach of the year. Yet the episode that led to his suspension, the subsequent appeal and the limited public communication from Rybakina’s team mean questions about their partnership endure as she begins her reign at the top.
