Published 01/29/2023, 2:47 PM EST
The reigning Wimbledon champion Elena Rybakina had an amazing run at the Australian Open. The Kazakh tennis star fell one match short of winning her second Grand Slam title. While the 23-year-old is garnering praise from all corners of the world, her coach Stefano Vukov is being criticized by some prominent names in the tennis community. Recently, a clip of Vukov reacting aggressively when Rybakina missed a point against Victoria Azarenka in the semifinal went viral.
Reacting to the same, the former American tennis star Pam Shriver wrote a highly critical comment about the coach. It prompted a reaction from the former Russian tennis star Dmitry Tursunov, which became a full-blown Twitter battle.
Ugly Twitter fight between Dmitry Tursunov and Pam Shriver over Elena Rybakina’s coach
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The video of Vukov’s animated behavior in the semifinal match of the Australian Open 2023 is getting reactions from all corners of the world. The former American tennis star and analyst Pam Shriver came up with a strong response to his behavior. While raising her concern for the world no.25, she wrote, “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.”
This did not go well with Tursunov. The former coach of Emma Raducanu replied, “the fact that you even know who Elena Rybakina is. 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”
Tursunov’s questioning of her knowledge of the sport irked her as she came up with a strong response to belittling her expertise only because she was a woman.
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Although Tursunov stuck to his point defending Vukov, he did apologize for the comment that offended Shriver.
Elena Rybakina touted as the next Serena Williams
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While the media has focused extensively on her coach after the viral clip, the Kazakh tennis star has quietly had another great run in a Grand Slam. After winning Wimbledon at a very young age, she surely has made some fans in the tennis community.
Tennis – Wimbledon – All England Lawn Tennis and Croquet Club, London, Britain – July 9, 2022 Kazakhstan’s Elena Rybakina poses with the trophy after winning the women’s singles final against Tunisia’s Ons Jabeur REUTERS/Toby Melville
One of them is the former tennis star and analyst, Sam Smith. He was all praise for the Moscow-born Kazakh tennis star. Praising her on air, he compared her style of play with the legendary Serena Williams. Further, he claimed that the 23-year-old has got the potential to win 10 Grand Slam titles in the future.
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Rybakina has definitely made a strong start to her career. It will be interesting to see if she really becomes the next big thing in tennis.