Elena Rybakina was knocked out of the US Open by Marketa Vondrousova to end her bid for another Grand Slam at the last 16 stage.
It caps off a pretty poor year by her high standards when it comes to the Grand Slam events, with Rybakina failing to go beyond round four.
Emma Raducanu praised Rybakina after losing to her in the third round, and on her day, the Kazakhstani performer is up there with the best.
Rybakina lauded Iga Swiatek after meeting her in the final at Cincinnati, coming into this tournament, and it felt like the world number 10 might have a crack at going deep.
Earlier this year, Goran Ivanisevic coached Rybakina, but it didn’t last long, and now, the 26-year-old is back on the lookout for a new coach once again.
Elena Rybakina splits from coach Davide Sanguinetti
Sanguinetti has only been working with Rybakina since Ivanisevic left the team in February, but he’s already ceased working with the player, according to Tennis Up To Date.
That will likely mean she’s going to add someone to her team, and perhaps a window of opportunity has presented itself to Rybakina.
It’s worth noting that the 2022 Wimbledon champion will likely just go with Stefano Vukov as her coach, but it wouldn’t be overly surprising to see someone added to the team.
Rybakina needs to try something in order to start challenging for major honours again and perhaps the solution to her coaching predicament has now presented itself.
Rybakina should make a play for Gillea Cervara
Cervara recently stopped working with Daniil Medvedev after eight years as part of his team.
The long-serving coach isn’t keen to sit around, however, and said in an interview with Tennis Majors that he’s keen to get back involved ahead of the 2026 swing.
There’s no certainty over whether he will work with another male or whether he’d be tempted to go with a female, although he wants to work with a top player.
Cervara helped Medvedev win a Grand Slam title, and although this year has been turbulent for the Russian, his best tennis was played with the now-departed coach behind him.
Rybakina has been as high as number three in the world rankings, and having one Grand Slam title simply isn’t good enough for a player boasting her ability.
Spending some time with the meticulous Cervara might do wonders for Rybakina’s game, and at this point, it has to be worth a go.
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