Tennis is one of the few industries where the employee holds power over the employer, as it is the player who hires the coach, not the other way around.
It’s a complex dynamic—Elena Rybakina knows it well. She pays the salary, but Stefano Vukov is the one in control, pushing everything into dangerous territory.
Goran Ivanisevic sensed that danger. A Grand Slam champion, a successful coach, and a man of integrity, he has seen a lot over the years on tour. And what he saw with Rybakina made him walk away.
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Vukov insulted Rybakina, called her stupid, pushed her beyond her physical limits, and humiliated and manipulated her, telling her that without him, she would be nothing—that she would still be in Russia picking potatoes.
It reminds me of Conchita Martínez’s case. Her coach, Dutchman Eric Van Harpen, abused her. Conchita was very close to Argentina’s Gabriela Castro. They even came to my house to tell me their story.
He hit her, treated her terribly. With his harsh methods, he shaped Conchita’s personality.
Mariana Pérez Roldán went through hell. I witnessed that case up close. Her father, Raúl Pérez-Roldán, is one of the most evil people I have ever seen. He made his daughter play with a fractured knee, telling her that a Pérez-Roldán never quits. He pushed her so hard that she could never play again. She was forced to retire young because of her father and coach.
Not to mention what he did to his son, Guillermo. A well-known and disturbing story: the man used to hit him. I was a witness myself.
When Guillermo lost the Rome final to Ivan Lendl, 6-4 in the fifth set, I went to the locker room to congratulate him because he had played an incredible match. When I entered, I saw how Raúl insulted him and hit him. I didn’t do anything because I couldn’t get involved.
Raúl Pérez-Roldán was violent. He also caused a lot of harm to Argentine tennis player Graciela Pérez. Once, he took her off the court after a loss and slapped her. He sent her to the locker room crying.
There are countless similar stories of disastrous coaches. Mary Pierce and Jelena Dokic have also suffered.
We don’t know if Rybakina is still enduring these atrocities, but we can tell she doesn’t want to get rid of Vukov. Or maybe she can’t.
