New Details of Rybakina’s Coach’s Suspension: Allegations of Psychological Abuse and Humiliation
British publication The Athletic has released the findings of the Women's Tennis Association's (WTA) investigation into Kazakh tennis player Elena Rybakina's coach, Croatian Stefano Vukov.
According to the publication, Vukov’s suspension will last for one year. The Croatian specialist is accused of psychological and physical abuse of Rybakina, which is said to have caused her frequent illnesses.
It is reported that Vukov called the Kazakh athlete “brainless” and humiliated her, saying that “if it weren’t for him, Elena would be picking potatoes in Russia.” In addition, it became known that during the Australian Open, Vukov and Rybakina lived in the same room in Melbourne.
In 2024, Rybakina parted ways with Vukov, after which Stefano was suspended by the WTA for violating the code of conduct. Elena was left without a coach until the WTA Finals, after which she began training with Goran Ivanisevic. However, in January 2025, the tennis player returned Vukov to her team, and in the same month terminated cooperation with Ivanisevic.
Currently, Elena Rybakina is being trained by Italian specialist Davide Sanguinetti.
Today in Doha (Qatar) at the WTA 1000 tournament, Elena Rybakina will meet in the third round with the 46th racket of the world, Slovak Rebecca Sramkova. Sramkova knocked out the 15th racket of the world, Russian Mirra Andreeva, with a score of 3:6, 6:3, 7:5 in the second round.
