"It's kinda selfish": Andy Roddick criticises Stefano Vukov for destroying Goran Ivanisevic's coaching stint with Elena Rybakina

Former world number one Andy Roddick has criticised Stefano Vukov for being ‘selfish’ after he became the reason behind the recent split of Elena Rybakina with Goran Ivanisevic.

The 25-year-old is often regarded as one of the best players currently playing in women’s tennis in the singles category. The 37-year-old has been working with Rybakina since 2019 but had a turbulent time off late, leading to their partnership's end.

During his time away from the coaching staff of the one-time Grand Slam winner, Vukov was provisionally by WTA for allegedly breaching the code of conduct.

After ending the partnership with Vukov, Rybakina decided to hire the former coach of legendary tennis star Novak Djokovic, Ivanisevic. However, Vukovic returned to the mix, which led to the departure of the former Wimbledon winner from his role. There were reports in the media that Ivanisevic was unhappy with the return of the former Croatia player.

Former world number one Roddick has recently spoken about Vukovic in his own podcast ‘Served with Andy Roddick’. The 2003 US Open winner called Vukovic ‘selfish’ and believes that there has to be an element of ‘self-control’.

"Circus show of a dude who is inserting himself into the conversation,” he said. “I don't know if you are with someone and you care about that person and they have one of the best coaches in the world agreeing to work with them, it's kinda selfish to put yourself in the middle of all that and have proximity in putting this out and making yourself a part of the story, especially before there is a ruling of any way she would perform. There has to be an element of self-control here.”

Rybakina is currently taking part in the Qatar Open, where she booked her place in the quarterfinal after beating Rebecca Sramkova in the last 16 straight sets with a score of 7-6, 6-2.