Elena Rybakina's ex-coach Stefano Vukov banned for one year as alarming summary of alleged abuse, harassment and romantic relationship emerges
WTA
Earlier on Tuesday, Stefano Vukov's suspension from the WTA Tour was confirmed to stand and 'remains in place' but this caused more confusion as to the length of ban and what this now means for Elena Rybakina. But alarming details have since emerged.
As per The Athletic, Vukov has been banned for a year from the WTA Tour. The one year suspension began on January 31 which means he will miss about a year and a half give or take given the provisional time he has already served.
A statement wrote: “The WTA confirms that the independent investigation into a potential breach of the WTA Code of Conduct by Stefano Vukov has concluded.
“Following this process, the suspension remains in place. To protect the confidentiality and integrity of the investigation and its findings, the WTA will not provide further details. We remain committed to ensuring that all matters are handled in a fair and objective manner in accordance with the WTA Code of Conduct.”
Portia Archer, the chief executive of the WTA Tour in a three page summary issued to the pair amid his box said that he had violated the code of conduct by calling her 'stupid' and telling her without him she would “still be in Russia picking potatoes". This per a source who has reviewed the letter and is in contact with Rybakina's team then shared with the online publication.
Archer also stated in the letter that the investigators concluded that Vukov had subjected Rybakina to mental abuse and pushed her to beyond her limits which resulted in her well documented illness troubles. The former Wimbledon champion spent most of last season in particular on and off the court with bizarre illnesses.
Archer also concluded in the report that Vukov had harassed Rybakina by refusing to leave her alone during the US Open when he dismissed her. He also as a result violated the 'no contact' directive that was part of the provisional suspension.
“We need a safe environment for everyone," Archer stated while also making it clear in the view of their report that they have a 'toxic relationship' stating also that there is increasing evidence that the pair are also involved in a romantic relationship.
Rybakina since his return to the team and also his suspension soon after has stood by Vukov and with Davide Sanguinetti now part of the team, he is somebody who is open about being in contact with Vukov. How this now affects the former Wimbledon champion remains to be seen and whether he still coaches her on the sidelines despite being banned.
Facing off against Peyton Stearns today, she won 6-2, 6-4. She was asked about Vukov again post match but didn't seem to know anything about the ban albeit given it wasn't then public knowledge, it is likely that she has since digested the news hence also the recent appointment of the Italian.
Amid all of the news surrounding the pair, she now encounters her next test in Doha facing Rebecca Sramkova and if she wins, the questions will likely intenstify.
Stefano Vukov banned for a year, report @CDEccleshare and @MattFutterman on @TheAthletic.
— José Morgado (@josemorgado) February 11, 2025
The details are bizarre:
- Mental and physical abuse resulting in constant illnesses
- Harassment after being fired in August
- They shared a room in Melbourne during the AO
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- Oooooo.... wow... tell us more... we just live each day waiting for "news" of these two women who don't know when to go away. Why do you keep posting their personal management's weekly press releases?
mandoist11-02-2025 - Hard to believe Emma "understands" all that much about the rigors of a prioritized Life in tennis.mandoist11-02-2025
- "Intensified" ??? Yeah, right. Nothing has changed... nothing has "intensified"; only continued.mandoist10-02-2025
- Bencic is all business right now. If Rybakina is the ice queen, then Bencic is Antarctica—colder, sharper, and seemingly unstoppable. 🔥❄️MrAndreeva07-02-2025
- Creepy.mandoist07-02-2025
- Ouch!!mandoist07-02-2025
- they need to change the rules on the WTA to limit wildcards more effectively like they have on the ATPSososo06-02-2025
- This is just getting beyond ridiculous!! Not to mention unsportsmanlike and unfair to serious up & coming contenders.mandoist06-02-2025
- No, writer, we were not "stunned". If you knew your business you would have been aware of her statement last weekend re: her knee and retirement. The main take-away here is that Simona went out on her own terms. She surely wanted to play again after WTA & ITIA screwed her out of her final productive seasons. Personally, I believed she was going to make this announcement when I saw the President and his family in their box seats. Good for Simone -- now she can move on to other things as she said she would.mandoist04-02-2025
- It sounds seriously absurd that in Davis Cup, (unlike Grand Slams such as the Aus Open), medical time outs off court with the medical staff are not allowed?? I mean, if this was an Aus Open match, and the same thing happened to Gurin then, he would have been able to go off court for official medical time out and make an informed decision whether to resume the match or retire. How come such conditions do not apply in Davis Cup?? I mean, there with Davis Cup, it is even more like a soccer match or basketball game in that teams are playing. And so as with those, it ought to be the case in tennis that if a player needs serious medical time out, then one of the other team mates ought to substitute and each team needs to have stand-ins or understudies in case substitution is needed which will be rare but as we can see here, this kind of circumstance fits. But even if the teams do not go down the road of subbing other team mates in, in case of a health issue like the one which played out here, at least, as in the Aus Open and other Grand Slams, there ought to be time-outs with the health professionals and at the conclusion of these time-outs, the particular decision that has been reached between them and the player needs to be taken on board by the umpire. PERIOD.
Sueiyin04-02-2025
