Ancient Wimbledon champion and world number 6 Elena Rybakina defended her former coach Stefano Vukov after his suspension from the women’s tennis circuit (WTA).
THE Athletic reported on Thursday that Vukoc had been suspended by the WTA while it investigated a potential violation of its code of conduct, meaning he will not be able to receive accreditation for this month’s competition. Australian Open.
Rybakina and Vukov ended their five-year partnership before last year’s US Open, with the 2022 Wimbledon champion then naming Novak Djokovic’s former coach. Goran Ivanisevic.
But Rybakina, 25, announced Vukov would be joining her team earlier this week and said Vukov had “never mistreated me” as the WTA’s investigation into his behavior continues.
Rybakina was speaking after playing for Kazakhstan in their United Cup semi-final defeat to Poland, ahead of the start of the Australian Open in Melbourne on January 12.
“I’ve said it before, he never mistreated me or it was never anything like that,” Rybakina said at the United Cup in Sydney.
“I work with Goran. I’m happy with the way we worked for a few weeks. Stefano joins the team because I have known the person for six years and there are also a lot of things we can do off the field.
“Of course, I’m not really happy with the situation. I’m not happy with the comments I’m seeing, especially from people on the tour. They are active coaches, commentators. I don’t think that’s fair.
Vukov said Athletics that he “never abused anyone” while the WTA said he would not be eligible to be accredited for its tournaments. This includes the Australian Open, where Rybakina was runner-up in 2023.
Vukov was Rybakina’s coach when she won Wimbledon in 2022 and reached third place in the world rankings. She suffered from illness and injury last season and missed several high-profile tournaments, including the Olympics.
