“I think she can win more Slams” – Ivanisevic on Rybakina

“After Novak it is very difficult to coach someone, so I needed something completely different. When you're the coach of the greatest player of all time, you just need something new. So the choice was a young player or something completely different, and this completely different was the WTA Tour.”

Tennis Majors: How did the collaboration with Elena Rybakina come about?

Goran Ivanisevic: There were some other offers (Ivanisevic had several offers from top players, both on the WTA and ATP), but I think I chose the right one for me because of Elena's playing style and potential, but also because of her personality. Elena is calm and I can't wait to get started. I think it's going to be great.

Tennis Majors: In what ways exactly do you think Elena will be a good fit for you?

Goran Ivanisevic: I don't know her that well personally, but my friend Zule is her fitness coach. We have worked with Tomas Berdych and it is widely said around the Tour that she is a great person. In terms of game, she has a big serve, a tall, strong hitter who plays aggressively, she won Wimbledon, just like me. I feel like I can teach her something. I mean, she's already number 5 in the world, but I think she can win more Slams, that's for sure.

I needed a U-turn after Novak.

Goran Ivanisevic

Tennis Majors: Where do you think you can contribute the most?

Goran Ivanisevic: First, we need to get to know each other better. I won't go into too much detail, but there is room for improvement in every aspect of the game. She can achieve better results. It's going to be interesting. I know a lot of people thought it was strange and people were surprised by our collaboration, but not me. I needed a turnaround after Novak. I won everything with Novak, so I'm really looking forward to this new challenge. To be honest, I never imagined myself on the women's tour during my time on the ATP Tour, but I don't see myself in men's tennis right now.

Tennis Majors: Not exactly your field, but Rybakina has suffered a lot from illness, allergies, this kind of thing. How do you handle all that?

Goran Ivanisevic: I'm sure there's a reason behind all this. If I delve deeper into the whole process, I will know more. But you know what they say: Fuck the coach who can't succeed on both Tours!

Tennis Majors: Having been on the ATP Tour for so long, how familiar are you with Elena's competition?

Goran Ivanisevic: I also always enjoyed watching women's matches, I have been in the Tour for 13 years now. The top four or five players have been there for a while, some younger players are coming in, but the top 10 has been more or less comparable for a while. I mean, tennis is tennis, men's or women's, forehand, backhand, serve… Ultimately I think it's the same, even though everyone tells me the WTA Tour is completely different. I'll be catching up with my old gang though, as most of the events for both Tours are in the same cities. Again, I'm happy to pick up something new, to see how much it's different, why it's different. I got to experience it first hand.

Tennis Majors: Have you finalized anything yet about the number of weeks you will spend together?

Goran Ivanisevic: Calm down, just take it easy. We'll do the off-season together, then go to Australia together and see. No pressure.

If he (Djokovic) goes on the court like that, he can still win a Slam

Goran Ivanisevic

Tennis Majors: What about your former student Novak Djokovic. Do you feel he will come to 2025 motivated and win more Grand Slams?

Goran Ivanisevic: I don't know if he is motivated and how much, but the moment he decides to play, it means he wants to play. Jannik Sinner and Carlos Alcaraz are convincingly above the rest of the field, but I put Novak in the group with them because if Novak really wants to play, he is still the best in the world as far as I am concerned. The other thing is how much he wants to play and when we saw in the Olympics… If he goes on the court like that, he can still win a Slam. It also depends on his ranking and the draw. When should he face Sinner or Alcaraz, many factors, but can Novak do it? Yes, he can. You can never write him off, I would never do that. And good for me, I don't have to fight Novak, I can remain his fan unless he switches to women's tennis!!

Tennis majors: sinner or Alcaraz?

Goran Ivanisevic: They're different players, but when they're both at their best, I feel like Sinner is better. He is more consistent throughout the match, or Alcaraz can go from making great shots to making some easy mistakes. This year Carlos had a few losses that I couldn't explain… If we leave out Novak, they will dominate, they are way above everyone else in the Tour.

Tennis Majors: Who else could challenge them at Slams, Alexander Zverev perhaps?

Goran Ivanisevic: Nobody. Zverev has too many ups and downs. Until a certain point he plays great, but then there comes a match where he really has to put it together, where he has to perform at his best, that's when he fails, and against Alcaraz and Sinner you always have to be at your best .

Tennis Majors: And finally, I would like to know your opinion on the whole Sinner doping case?

Goran Ivanisevic: I sincerely hope they leave him alone and let him play, tennis needs Sinner. With (Marin) Cilic I had to deal with WADA and people like that, a lot of people I didn't like, who just want to destroy someone's life. I hope the outcome is positive for Sinner.