Harassment, insults to Rybakina: Reasons for Vukov's suspension revealed

Elena Rybakina and Stefano Vukov have not worked together since August.

The Kazakh player's coach between 2019 and 2024, which enabled her to win Wimbledon in 2022, Vukov could have reappeared on his former protégée's staff at the start of the season, when Goran Ivanisevic had just been appointed Rybakina's coach (the two parties announced their separation after Melbourne).

In any case, this was Rybakina's wish, but the WTA has come out of the closet in the last few hours to confirm that 37-year-old Stefano Vukov has indeed been suspended indefinitely due to a code of conduct violation on the part of the Croatian.

In the last few hours, The Athletic has made some startling revelations about the content of the relationship between Rybakina and Vukov.

It emerges that the latter went so far as to make the 25-year-old player cry, pushing her psychologically to the limit and endangering her well beyond her physical limits, even going so far as to harass her with messages after the end of their collaboration last summer.

As a reminder, Rybakina endured a tricky 2024 season marked by numerous forfeits and withdrawals, both due to injury and illness, which began to raise suspicions about her staff.

He is also said to have had hurtful and insulting words for her, telling the current world No. 7 that without his help, she would "still be picking potatoes in Russia".

The source, who added that Vukov had been suspended for a year, also said that the WTA had evidence of a romantic relationship between Rybakina and Vukov.

WTA Director Portia Archer's justification for Vukov's suspension was that it was a toxic relationship.

Asked about the possibility of her former coach returning to her staff during the Australian Open, Rybakina, for her part, said that Stefano Vukov had never mistreated her and that she was unhappy about the situation surrounding her suspension.