Elena Rybakina has slammed the criticism Pam Shriver and others directed at her coach Stefano Vukov. On Friday, Shriver tweeted this about Rybakina’s coach Vukov. “As I watch Rybakina try to win her second major in 7 months, I hope she finds a coach who speaks and treats her with respect at ALL times and does not ever accept anything less,” Shriver tweeted during the Rybakina and Azarenka match.
This tweet was shared by numerous news outlets and it led to widespread criticism of Vukov. Reacting to the talk regarding her coach Vukov, Rybakina called for “disregard of any fake news” and also put out a hashtag that reads: “factcheckplease.”
Rybakina slams the criticism directed by Shriver, others
“After a great AO, I have seen some disturbing comments on social media about the behaviour of my coach Stefano Vukov.
I want to clarify any misinterpretations. Stefano has believed in me for many years, before anyone else did. We plotted a strategy together in how I could achieve great things and his method shows in my Grand Slam success so far.
He is a passionate coach, with a lot of knowledge about tennis. Unlike people that are making these comments, he has great knowledge about me as a person and as an athlete. Those who know me well, will know that I would never accept a coach that didn’t respect me and all our hard work.
I may be quiet on court and in general, but inside me is a competitive athlete that wants to achieve great things and Stefano has helped me greatly in this way. So please disregard any fake news to the contrary,” Rybakina said in a message posted on her Instagram.
After Dmitry Tursunov saw Shriver’s comments on Twitter, he directly told her to apologize to Vukov because she “had zero clue what she was talking about.
“You have zero clue what you are talking about and at the very least owe a public apology to a man who is a great coach in every sense of that word. You’d be lucky to ever reach that level and every player would be lucky to have someone like that in their corner.
The man is loyal to his player with every atom of his body and soul. It’s a shame you have proved time and time again that you are blind to see anything than bunch of gestures,” Tursunov wrote on Twitter after seeing Shriver’s tweet on Rybakina’s coach.
