FILE PHOTO: Aug 15, 2024; Cincinnati, OH, USA ; Elena Rybakina of Kazakhstan returns a shot against Leylah Fernandez of Canada on day four of the Cincinnati Open. Mandatory Credit: Susan Mullane-USA TODAY Sports/File Photo
(Reuters) - World Number five Elena Rybakina has hired Novak Djokovic's former coach Goran Ivanisevic for the 2025 season, the Kazakhstan player said on Friday
Djokovic ended a five-year partnership in March with Croat Ivanisevic, who helped the Serbian claim nine of his 24 Grand Slam titles. Ivanisevic also won Wimbledon in 2001 when he became the first wild card to win a major tournament.
Rybakina, 25, will start working with Ivanisevic during the pre-season. The 2022 Wimbledon champion split from her long-time coach Stefano Vukov just days before the U.S. Open.
"I'm really looking forward to this partnership," Rybakina told reporters ahead of the WTA Finals which begin on Saturday in Riyadh. "I think he's a great champion and he has so much experience and I'm looking forward to starting.
"For me, it was important to get better and with the help of the agents we connected and we just decided to start working ... Of course, it's a big change but I think it's going to be a good change."
Ivanisevic wrote on Instagram: "Excited about coming back on Tour. This time, it’s time for some WTA action. Happy to join your team Elena Rybakina."
The Russian-born Rybakina enjoyed plenty of success in the first half of 2024, winning titles in Brisbane, Abu Dhabi and Stuttgart, but missed several tournaments due to illness and injury thereafter.
After reaching the Wimbledon semi-finals she withdrew from the Paris Olympics due to bronchitis and pulled out of the U.S. Open in August due to a lower back injury after winning her opening match.
Rybakina begins her WTA Finals campaign on Saturday against Italian world number four Jasmine Paolini.
(Reporting by Shifa Jahan in Bengaluru; Editing by Ken Ferris)
