A three-page letter to Vukov from WTA chief detailed intensity of allegations
As world No7 Elena Rybakina battled to keep her hopes of securing her first title of 2025 in her semi-final clash with teenage sensation Mirra Andreeva alive, it was not members of her own family that watched her in the Dubai heat from the stands.
Instead, fans on social media noted that the former Wimbledon champions was being watched by another patriarch – the father of her former coach, Stefano Vukov. Vukov, 37, was not in the stadium, nor will he be after receiving a near-unprecedented one-year ban from the WTA after being found to have violated their code of conduct in a move which sent seismic tremours through the tennis world.
Vukov had been handed a preliminary suspension in January, shortly after returning to Rybakina’s camp – and just six months after the partnership abruptly ended in New York. As unsettling as the suspension had been, few would have believed it would be so swiftly upheld, particularly as Rybakina continued to deny she had ever been mistreated by the Croatian. Vukov has also denied the allegations.
But as swiftly as the ban had been put in place, a bombshell report by The Athletic replete with details about the ‘mentally abusive behaviour’ Rybakina has reportedly been subjected to by her coach hit like a second wave.
The report revealed that Vukov had been allegedly accused of ‘mentally abusing’ Rybakina, as well as making her cry, calling her unpleasant names, and harassing her in New York, ahead of last year’s US Open, shortly after he had been dismissed as her coach.
