Since then, she has also withdrawn from Seoul, Beijing and Wuhan due to a back injury. Throughout the entire year, the world No. 5 has battled various injuries and illnesses. Now, Tartakova says it is all on a “psychosomatic” basis and that constant stress and tension led to that.

“Many people do not understand the reason for such health problems. They said that she is having difficulties, back problems. This is the official reason. Then, that during this year she had problems with her stomach. But as people who did not work with her, but were involved in her professional career, say, she is now under a lot of stress and it is all psychosomatic. She is now in a completely disorganized state, she cannot play,” Tartakova said during a conversation for YouTube channel.

“And all these difficulties that she faces, she faces because of a lot of very heavy pressure associated with her former coach Vukov. They say that Stefano actually came to the US Open, that he was in New York, was ready to continue working with her, but Lena decided that they would break up because of a very difficult… I don’t want to say big words, not quite the correct attitude of her mentor towards her. That is, he “ate” her all the time, as people who surrounded Lena say,” she said.

“Elena Rybakina’s parents stood up for her, because she could not break this vicious circle. On the one hand, this is the coach who worked with her since she was 17, and she herself, together with her family, chose him,” she said.

“On the other hand, it is clear that they were very close, she won the main achievements of her career thanks to their joint work, and her parents insisted that Lena change something in her tennis life, because there was pressure, and insults, and bad words said to her. They were constantly from Vukov’s lips,” she added.