Latest news with #Vukov
Yahoo
24-05-2025
- Sport
- Yahoo
Elena Rybakina wins first title in over 12 months, thanks banned coach Stefano Vukov
By her standards, it's been a while since Elena Rybakina has been a serious threat to win a tournament. The last time she made a final was 13 months ago in Stuttgart, Germany, which was also the last time she won a tournament. Rybakina ended that drought in Strasbourg, France on the eve of the French Open, defeating Ludmila Samsonova, a longtime nemesis, 6-1, 6-7(2), 6-1. Advertisement Fittingly, the big-serving Rybakina finished Samsonova with an ace on a second serve. She went into the final with a 1-4 record against the Russian and earns 500 ranking points from her triumph, sending the former world No. 3 back up to No. 11. The win should give the native Russian-turned-Kazakh a healthy boost of confidence heading into the French Open. She didn't beat a player ranked higher than 19th on the way to the title, but she's been losing to players ranked far lower than that this season. 'Davide, you're here alone, but I have a good and big team,' she said at the trophy ceremony, referring to her current coach Davide Sanguinetti. 'Thank you to my fitness coach, physio, Stefano and of course thank you to my family and all the sponsors for your support,' Rybakina said. Advertisement Stefano is Stefano Vukov, Rybakina's coach of the past six years, who is serving a one-year suspension from the WTA Tour for violating its code of conduct. The WTA suspended him in February, after conducting an investigation into reports that he had been verbally abusive to Rybakina and had pursued her at her New York hotel after she sacked him before the U.S. Open last year. In a letter sent to Vukov at the conclusion of the investigation, WTA Tour chief executive Portia Archer wrote that Vukov's violations of the code of conduct included: 'Engaging in abuse of authority and abusive conduct towards the WTA Player, including compromising or attempting to compromise the psychological, physical or emotional well-being of the Player.' Vukov has denied any wrongdoing, and Rybakina has repeatedly maintained that he 'never mistreated' her. Within weeks of her firing Vukov, Rybakina had decided she wanted him back on her team. But by then the WTA had opened its investigation into his behavior, provisionally suspending him pending the outcome. Last November, she hired Goran Ivanisevic, Novak Djokovic's former coach, but Vukov continued to coach her behind the scenes without Ivanisevic knowing. Advertisement Vukov, who was in Melbourne during the Australian Open, was barred from accessing Melbourne Park on a credential and unable to enter practice courts or Rybakina's box. After Rybakina exited the tournament, Ivanisevic resigned as her coach. Rybakina will face Julia Riera of Argentina in the first round of the French Open. Riera replaced Belinda Bencic of Switzerland, who pulled out with an injury, in the main draw. This article originally appeared in The Athletic. Tennis, Women's Tennis 2025 The Athletic Media Company
New York Times
18-02-2025
- Sport
- New York Times
The ‘relationship of dependence' between a barred coach and a Wimbledon champion
Over a tumultuous two days in New York in August, in the lead-up to last year's U.S. Open, Stefano Vukov tried to convince Elena Rybakina to reunite with him one more time. Told by a member of Rybakina's team that he had been dismissed as her coach and to leave her alone, Vukov instead walked the lobby and hallways of her Manhattan hotel. He flooded her phone with text messages and more than 100 calls — according to sources with personal and professional relationships with Rybakina who were present at the hotel — as he sought another chance to convince Rybakina that her tennis career could not thrive without him. Advertisement Vukov's actions in New York pushed several members of Rybakina's inner circle to tell WTA Tour officials that they feared for the safety of the 2022 Wimbledon champion, those sources say. The governing body of women's tennis, which had already received multiple complaints from observers about Vukov's behavior as a coach, opened an independent investigation into him. It provisionally suspended Vukov from coaching and from obtaining WTA credentials to tennis events. It also imposed a no-contact directive between him and Rybakina while the investigation unfolded. On Jan. 31, WTA chief executive Portia Archer informed Vukov and Rybakina of the investigation's conclusions. Having violated the WTA Tour's code of conduct, Vukov would be banned from coaching for one year, and would have to take classes in appropriate coaching behavior. In a confidential three-page summary of the investigation sent to Vukov and Rybakina and reviewed by The Athletic, Archer outlined Vukov's violations of the code of conduct as: 'Engaging in abuse of authority and abusive conduct towards the WTA Player, including compromising or attempting to compromise the psychological, physical or emotional well-being of the Player; engaging in physical and verbal abuse of the Player; and, exploiting your relationship with the Player for further personal and/or business interests at the expense of the best interest of the Player.' Archer concluded that Vukov had harassed Rybakina in New York, 'despite her request to give her space.' Her letter said that Vukov had ridiculed and abused Rybakina during coaching, calling her 'stupid' and 'retarded' as well as 'throwing balls and yelling at her,' and saying that she would still be in Russia 'picking potatoes' without him. It specified that Vukov's 'mental abuse' and his pushing Rybakina 'to or beyond her limits' had manifested as 'a physical illness or other symptoms'; Rybakina missed or withdrew from several events in 2024 with illness and injury. Vukov, Archer's letter said, also received an email from Rybakina's mother requesting that he not make her daughter cry, and refused to coach her at one event as a result. The investigation also concluded that Vukov had violated the WTA's no-contact directive, with Archer writing that he continued to 'brazenly defy it even as this letter is penned.' Advertisement 'We need a safe environment for everyone,' Archer wrote, describing Vukov's behavior as a 'contradiction' of that. Vukov, 37, has denied any wrongdoing and is considering an appeal, which he must submit by Feb. 21, according to Archer's letter. Rybakina, 25 and a native of Russia who represents Kazakhstan, reversed her decision to part ways with Vukov in autumn 2024 and has since defended his treatment of her. As the WTA was investigating Vukov, Rybakina told multiple sources in attendance at her recent events that her relationship with him had become personal and romantic. Archer's letter also noted the shift in their relationship. It said there was evidence that they stayed in the same hotel room in Melbourne for the Australian Open and that 'there is increasing evidence that you are now involved in a romantic relationship.' 'It's clear to me that the relationship you have created with the Player is unhealthy,' Archer wrote, adding that witnesses described Vukov and Rybakina's relationship as 'toxic.' Vukov did not respond to numerous messages seeking comment about the incident in New York and the WTA's investigation. In a text message sent to The Athletic in January he wrote, 'Definitely never abused anyone.' Rybakina also did not respond to several requests for comment made through her representatives. She was asked about Vukov's ban last week, after she beat Rebecca Sramkova at the WTA 1000 Qatar Open in Doha. Rybakina spoke the day after the WTA confirmed in a statement that Vukov would remain suspended. 'I'm just disappointed with the situation and how the process went,' she said. 'I'm not going to comment much on that any more.' In its only public statement on the conclusion of the investigation, the WTA Tour said: '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.' Advertisement Reporting for this story involved interviews with multiple people involved with or briefed on the investigation, as well as people with personal and professional relationships with Rybakina, Vukov and Goran Ivanisevic, the coach hired to be Vukov's replacement. Like almost all of the sources in this story, they spoke on the condition of anonymity, either because they are not authorized to speak publicly; to protect relationships within tennis; or because, they say, they worry Rybakina could become more isolated if she is aware they have spoken to reporters. Two of those sources say Rybakina has already become increasingly isolated in recent months. The Athletic also spoke with people who filed complaints about Vukov previously, some of whom said they were concerned about retribution from Vukov and Rybakina. GO DEEPER Elena Rybakina's former coach Stefano Vukov suspended by WTA under code of conduct investigation In 2020, the WTA published a feature on Vukov's coaching history and his burgeoning professional relationship with Rybakina, which began in 2019. It released a video to accompany the profile of Vukov, filmed during a coaching session at Indian Wells. Get an inside look into Elena Rybakina's practice 👀 Mic'd up with her coach Stefano Vukov! — wta (@WTA) April 8, 2020 Vukov calls Rybakina 'lazy' in the video, laughing before saying, 'we'll edit that out.' His manner is otherwise insistent but genial as they work through drills. Rybakina, 20 at the time, does not speak in the video. In the profile, Vukov describes his ability to irritate Rybakina in a bid to improve her play. 'I think there are buttons you can push. You got to know when to provoke your player,' he says. 'I know very well how to get Elena angry, to get her started.' By January 2025, when Vukov had been provisionally suspended for several months, tour officials had been receiving complaints about his behavior toward Rybakina from other coaches and players for at least three years, according to sources briefed on the investigation, as well as others with knowledge of Rybakina and Vukov's coaching relationship. At the 2022 Miami Open, a coach for another WTA player witnessed what he described as a nasty confrontation between Vukov and Rybakina. It was on the turf of the Hard Rock Stadium, in the warm-up area outside the main court. The coach says he saw Rybakina doing a footwork drill, under Vukov's supervision. Vukov, the coach said, repeatedly questioned her intelligence, calling her stupid and asking how she could not understand simple instruction. The coach said he would not want anyone speaking to him or his daughter that way and felt compelled to file a complaint. Advertisement He says he walked over to the tournament office and told an official about the incident. The official, he says, gave him the email of Steve Simon, the now chairman of the WTA Tour who was then its chief executive. In an email that the coach sent to Simon that day, March 23, 2022, which he read to The Athletic, he described Vukov as angry and speaking close to Rybakina while pointing a finger at her face. He wrote that he heard Vukov say, 'You're not very smart,' and 'it would take you 50 times to do it right.' Simon responded 15 minutes later, the coach said, stating the issue was important and promising to follow up. He later asked the coach if he wanted to receive updates on the matter or remain confidential. The coach said he chose to remain confidential. Simon did not respond to a request for comment made via a WTA spokesperson. That coach was one of a number of coaches and players who had noticed the forceful way in which Vukov would talk to Rybakina during practices and matches. Pam Shriver, the commentator, former Grand Slam doubles champion and the coach of Donna Vekic, said when she went public with her story of abuse by her coach, Don Candy, in the 1980s, several coaches and players began to approach her with stories of poor behavior on the current tour. The name that kept coming up, Shriver said, was Vukov. He had previously worked at the Pro-World Academy in Delray Beach, Fla., coaching WTA players, including Sachia Vickery, Renata Zarazua and Anhelina Kalinina. The Athletic attempted to contact all three players; Zarazua, the world No. 69 from Mexico, said in an interview via Zoom that Vukov was always respectful towards her. 'Sometimes I think when you are with a coach they become like your brother almost, you spend so much time with them,' she said. 'It's honestly so sad to hear what has happened.' She added that they had lost touch. Kalinina did not respond to a message on social media; reached by text message, Vickery did not respond to a request to discuss her time working with Vukov in time for inclusion in this story. Advertisement At the 2023 Australian Open, where Rybakina reached the final six months after winning Wimbledon, Vukov's behavior drew public criticism, some of it from Shriver. During Rybakina's loss in the final to Aryna Sabalenka, Shriver posted on Twitter: 'As I watch Rybakina try to win her second major in seven months, I hope she finds a coach who speaks and treats her with respect at ALL times and does not ever accept anything less.' In Rybakina's previous match against Viktoria Azarenka, Eurosport commentator Laura Robson commented on what she described as Vukov's 'negative' on-court coaching. At one moment, Vukov pointed to his head — usually a sign of mental strength or fortitude — not after a successful point, but after Rybakina had failed to serve out the first set. 'I don't know how she deals with the coach,' Robson said. After the tournament, Rybakina defended Vukov from Shriver's criticism. On Instagram, she wrote: 'After a great AO, I have seen some disturbing comments on social media about the behaviour of my coach Stefano Vukov. I want to clarify any misinterpretations. 'Stefano has believed in me for many years, before anyone else did. We plotted a strategy together in how I could achieve great things and his method shows in my Grand Slam success so far. 'He is a passionate coach, with a lot of knowledge about tennis. Unlike people that are making these comments, he has great knowledge about me as a person and as an athlete. 'Those who know me well, will know that I would never accept a coach that didn't respect me and all our hard work. I may be quiet on court and in general, but inside me is a competitive athlete that wants to achieve great things and Stefano has helped me greatly in this way. So please disregard any fake news to the contrary.' For the next year and a half, Rybakina struggled with injury and illness and withdrew from a number of tournaments, including the BNP Paribas Open at Indian Wells, Calif., the Italian Open in Rome and the Paris Olympics. At the French Open last May, Rybakina gave a terse news conference in which she dismissed reporters' 'simple questions,' later revealing that she had been struggling with insomnia. Archer's letter specified that Vukov's 'throwing balls and yelling' happened during a practice at Wimbledon in the same year. Advertisement Results elsewhere, like winning the Stuttgart Open in Germany, had been good enough to keep Rybakina's ranking at No. 4. 'She's just in her hotel room, quite solitary,' said one WTA executive in contact with Rybakina around the time she split with Vukov. 'It's quite sad really, she didn't used to be like that.' People with her at the Western & Southern Open, held in Cincinnati in mid-August, said that Rybakina had been struggling with sleep prior to that tournament, and few in her inner circle expected her to play the main tuneup before the U.S. Open. But days before the start of the tournament, Vukov let the rest of the team know that she would play, those sources said. Vukov did not attend that tournament. Rybakina played under the guidance of Lovro Zovko, a Croatian who has worked closely with the tennis federation of Kazakhstan, which has funded Rybakina's development since she was 18. In exchange, Rybakina agreed to represent Kazakhstan. She now lives in Dubai, as does Vukov. Rybakina's insomnia worsened in Cincinnati, according to sources who were present at the event. During her second-round match, a loss against Leylah Fernandez of Canada, they said she struggled to keep track of what was going on and Zovko repeatedly had to tell her the score and where to serve. Rybakina arrived in New York for the U.S. Open having not slept in several days, sources said, adding that people around her had expressed concerns about her appearance and demeanor. Archer's letter informing Vukov of the WTA's decision cited an email from Rybakina's mother to Vukov in which, Archer writes, she asked her daughter's coach not to make her cry again. Archer's letter also specified a connection between what the investigation found to be Vukov's 'mental abuse' of Rybakina and her physical fitness, saying that the abuse 'would sometimes manifest in the Player as a physical illness.' For months, her friends and family had been concerned about her relationship with Vukov, according to multiple sources around Rybakina during that time. After conversations at her New York hotel, they appeared to have convinced her that she should break with him as a coach, they said. Rybakina informed her representatives that she was ready to make a change and asked them to do whatever was necessary to keep Vukov away — canceling his hotel room and his credential for the tournament, according to the sources. Vukov had just arrived in New York. He was at the hotel, roaming the lobby trying to find a way to speak with her. Rybakina had dismissed him and informed the rest of her team that he was no longer her coach several times before, the sources said. Then, they said, Vukov would find her, speak with her and convince her to take him back. Advertisement In New York, members of her team worked to prevent that cycle from happening again. Vukov refused to leave the hotel without speaking with Rybakina. He called her phone over 100 times and sent her numerous text messages, according to a person present who saw them as well as the WTA letter summarizing its investigation. Then one of her representatives confronted Vukov, telling him he had been asked by Rybakina to procure security to remove him from the hotel and keep him away from Rybakina. Shortly after, Vukov left, according to the people present. 'Whatever your current status may be, you have cultivated a relationship of dependence, causing the Player to believe that she should be treated in the ways you have treated her and cannot have success without your presence, when in reality your success is dependent on her,' Archer's letter summarizing the investigation says. GO DEEPER WTA bans Stefano Vukov, Elena Rybakina's former coach, for one year On Aug. 23, three days before the start of the U.S. Open, Rybakina announced on social media that Vukov would no longer be coaching her. 'Hello everyone, After 5 years, Stefano and I are no longer working together,' she wrote in an Instagram Story. 'I thank him for his work on-court and wish him all the best for the future. Thank you for all your support.' At the time, several members of her team expected her to pull out of the tournament. The next day, though, she said she wanted to try to practice. On the court, she felt good enough to try competing. She won her first-round match over Destanee Aiava of Australia in straight sets. Two days later, exhausted and still struggling with sleep, she defaulted her second-round match against Jessika Ponchet before it started. 'Unfortunately, I have to withdraw from my match today due to my injuries,' Rybakina said in a statement via the WTA. By then, officials on site at the tournament had been informed of what had occurred with Vukov at Rybakina's hotel. Rybakina has publicly maintained that she has not filed a formal complaint with WTA officials about Vukov, but the information the organization received was enough for the organization to open an investigation and provisionally suspend him. Advertisement Within weeks, however, Vukov and Rybakina were in contact once more. The situation with Rybakina and Vukov is testing the limits of the WTA Tour's safeguarding rules, which were updated in December under the guidance of Lindsay Brandon, who joined the organization in 2023 as the tour's first director of safeguarding. Unlike other safeguarding efforts in other sports and organizations, complaints about and penalties against people accused of violating those rules or the organization's code of conduct generally remain confidential, preventing people inside and outside the sport from knowing who has been the subject of a complaint. It also is not clear that tennis officials have the power to enforce their directives away from their venues. Under the provisional suspension Vukov received in September, he was not supposed to be in contact with Rybakina, but as the investigation progressed, Rybakina made numerous complaints to tour officials that they were preventing her from having the coach of her choosing. She considered actions as drastic as boycotting tournaments or the entire tour, according to people with personal and professional relationships with her. 'The documented evidence of your increased contact likely impacted the independence of the investigation and your interference could be considered coercion of the Player,' Archer's letter says. 'There is no doubt that you influenced, and continue to influence, the Player's feelings around this investigation and its outcome.' Sources in attendance at Rybakina's most recent events and briefed on the ongoing investigation said that Rybakina and Vukov speak regularly about her matches, and did so during events she played during his provisional suspension, even though he is not formally allowed to coach her. In December, Vukov was courtside for one of Rybakina's matches at the World Tennis League exhibition in Abu Dhabi, United Arab Emirates. Since it is not a tour-sanctioned event, this did not contravene the WTA's provisional suspension. Advertisement Vukov then flew to Melbourne for the Australian Open in January, despite being barred from the event, with Tennis Australia refusing to issue him a credential. He appeared to be staying in her hotel room, according to people who were in contact with both of them throughout the event, at which Rybakina lost in the fourth round to the eventual champion, Madison Keys, in three sets. Archer also cited their seemingly staying together and its violation of the terms of his suspension in her summary of the investigation. Rybakina's official coach for that event was a well-known name in tennis. At last November's WTA Tour Finals, her first event since withdrawing from the U.S. Open, she announced that her coach for the 2025 season would be fellow Wimbledon champion Goran Ivanisevic. A popular figure on the tour, Ivanisevic had recently split from a hugely successful five-year partnership with the most successful male player of all time, Novak Djokovic. It was seen as a move that could help get Rybakina back to the level she'd needed to win Wimbledon and to reach the final in Melbourne in 2023. The partnership quickly unraveled. In their first event together at the United Cup, held in December and January in Perth and Sydney, Rybakina was in regular contact with Vukov and Ivanisevic felt marginalized, sources said. Ivanisevic was given no notice when Rybakina posted on Instagram on Jan. 1 that Vukov would be returning to the team, as The Athletic reported later that month. 'Hello everyone, I am excited to announce that Stefano will be joining the team for the 2025 season. Thank you all for the support. And wishing you a great 2025,' Rybakina wrote. Ivanisevic was blindsided by the announcement, sources said. Sources briefed on the matter confirmed that Rybakina worked with Vukov throughout her time being coached by Ivanisevic, including during a hiring process in which Ivanisevic understood he would be the only voice on her team. Rybakina and Ivanisevic flew from Perth to Sydney on the morning of Jan. 2 to discuss their partnership, after just three official WTA Tour singles matches together. Advertisement In an emotional meeting, Rybakina pleaded with Ivanisevic to stay on her team, becoming upset at the possibility of entering the first Grand Slam tournament of 2025 without a coach, according to three sources briefed on the situation. A spokesperson for Rybakina did not comment on the nature of the meeting. Even if Rybakina was keen to keep Ivanisevic on board, her public statements at news conferences conveyed a loyalty to Vukov. After losing 7-6(5), 6-4 at the United Cup semifinals to world No. 2 Iga Swiatek on Jan. 4, Rybakina said in a news conference: 'I'm not happy with the comments which I see, especially from the people who are on the tour. It's active coaches, commentators. I don't think that it's fair.' That was a reference to another tweet from Shriver, who had written on Jan. 1 in the wake of Vukov being hired: 'It's time for our entire sport to finally stand up to known abuse and cult-like manipulations of players. This is a very sad situation and my prayers are with ER (Rybakina).' It was retweeted by Vekic, one of Rybakina's rivals at the upper end of the WTA rankings. At this point, multiple sources briefed on the investigation told The Athletic, the WTA had finalised its report. Ivanisevic, among others, was waiting for the verdict to be released. The WTA wanted to wait until after the Australian Open before informing Rybakina and Vukov of its conclusions. A day before the tournament began, Rybakina again criticized the WTA. 'Definitely, as I said before, I don't agree with a lot of things that the WTA do in the sense of my relationship with Stefano,' she said in a news conference. 'As I said before, I have never made any complaints or any of these things. I always said that he never mistreated me.' Rybakina won her first-round match comfortably, defeating the 16-year-old Australian Emerson Jones 6-1, 6-1. Rybakina said afterwards that she was still speaking to Vukov for advice, but confirmed that he wasn't at the match. Jan. 21, the day after Rybakina exited the tournament, Ivanisevic met with Rybakina to tell her that he didn't want to continue as her coach, as first reported by The Athletic. He was on a rolling contract, and sources with personal and professional relationships with Ivanisevic said he found coaching Rybakina during the situation surrounding Vukov and the WTA investigation challenging. Advertisement Ivanisevic confirmed their split on social media later that day, describing his time with Rybakina as a 'trial period' that had ended. Then, five days after the tournament, the WTA sent Vukov the three-page letter that remains the only window into the full investigation that anyone outside the organization and its independent authority has seen. Under the terms of his 12-month suspension, Vukov is ineligible to register for the WTA Coaching Program. If he fails to comply with the terms, there is the option of 'permanent ineligibility from obtaining a credential to any WTA tournaments,' according to Archer's letter. He is barred from staying in player hotels and player hotel rooms for the duration of that suspension. Vukov has arranged for Davide Sanguinetti to serve as Rybakina's stand-in coach during tournaments for the duration of the suspension; he continues to work with her away from events. 'Stefano and I talk a lot, we are on the same wavelength,' Sanguinetti said in an interview with La Gazzetta dello Sport at the start of February. The WTA's ban does not prevent Rybakina from using Vukov as her agent, manager or anything other than a formal coach. In a statement, a WTA spokesperson told The Athletic that resources available to a player involved in such an investigation include activities for wellbeing, guides to spotting signs and symptoms of abusive behavior and routes to help, including hotlines. Two sources briefed on their working arrangement suggested that Vukov could also take over Rybakina's representation and management while under suspension. He would become everything but her formal coach, assuming a wider-reaching role than before — even after an investigation determined that he 'cultivated a relationship of dependence' through which, it found, Rybakina came to believe that she could not have success without him. (Top photos: Getty Images; Illustration: Eamonn Dalton for The Athletic)
Yahoo
13-02-2025
- Sport
- Yahoo
Tennis has a dirty secret but is cleaning up its act
Quietly and without any great fanfare, tennis has just taken a major step in confronting one of its dirtiest secrets: the all-too-common abuse or exploitation of players, especially young female players, by coaches or other 'support' staff. The latest allegation centres on Stefano Vukov, who works with the 2022 Wimbledon champion Elena Rybakina. A 37-year-old Croatian, Vukov was denied a credential for January's Australian Open on the basis of a 'provisional suspension' for allegedly breaking the WTA's code of conduct. On Tuesday night, that suspension was confirmed in a WTA email. The ban is understood to relate to instances of verbal and mental abuse towards Rybakina, and to last for a year. Vukov denies any wrongdoing, and has the right to appeal. He also appears to have the support of Rybakina, who said during January's United Cup that he had 'never mistreated' her. But the very fact that the WTA has intervened is a rarity indeed. Instances of the tour excluding team members in an attempt to protect players are almost unheard of. Previous examples have been largely confined to overbearing parents such as Damir Dokic and Jim Pierce. While not completely unprecedented, you have to go back a long way to find a coach receiving a ban for his or her treatment of players (as opposed to betting or corruption offences, which does occasionally happen at the lower levels of the game). In the mid-2000s, the WTA enacted a life ban on Joe Giuliano. A former player who once moved in the same social circles as Vitas Gerulaitis and John McEnroe, Giuliano ceased to be a part of the tennis scene after being accused of predatory conduct. The lack of any other known cases in the past 20 years does not, however, mean that coaches have always been professional in their relationships with players. It simply means that this is a taboo subject which only rarely breaks cover. One of those unusual occasions happened at the 2022 US Open, when the former world No 1 Victoria Azarenka made an oblique reference to 'manipulative' coaches during a post-match press conference. Invited to expand, Azarenka added: 'It happens right and left on the tour… because we see those vulnerable young ladies that [are] getting taken advantage of in different situations. If I had a daughter, I would have a question: would she want to play tennis? That would be a very big concern for me.' Indeed, Rybakina is not the only former Wimbledon champion to be associated with allegedly inappropriate coaching relationships. Three years ago, Telegraph Sport published a moving first-person account from five-time Wimbledon doubles champion Pam Shriver about her secret affair with her much-older coach Don Candy. As she wrote in that article, 'My main motivation is to let people know this still goes on – a lot.' Shriver has since used her position as a leading commentator, coach and pundit to highlight the potential problems that the tennis tour keeps throwing up. In fact, Shriver posted a critical post on X in January (see below) when Rybakina announced that Vukov was returning to her team, calling it a 'sad situation'. Unfortunately, tennis's mechanics make it all too easy for professional relationships to stray into more complicated territory. For one thing, young players making their way on the tour often share rooms with their coaches to save money. And then there is the essential insecurity of the coach's role. Eighteen months ago, Telegraph Sport published an extended report on these issues which featured revealing insights from Naomi Cavaday – the former British No 3 who sometimes found herself on the same trips as a rare female predator, the later-jailed coach Claire Lyte. 'Being a coach on the tour is an incredibly insecure job,' Cavaday said. 'Which leads to a lot of this unprofessional behaviour. It helps the coach feel a bit more secure if he has created a much closer personal relationship. I often see coaches leaning on that to make it harder for female players to get rid of them from their team.' At certain times in the past, the WTA has tried to suppress discussion of these issues – as when the investigative journalist Michael Mewshaw addressed them in a revealing book called Ladies of the Court. Published in 1993, the book reported players talking openly about their rivals' relationships with coaches, with the former Wimbledon finalist Hana Mandlikova describing one such situation as 'sickening'. But Ladies of the Court was banned from being sold at official tour events, while Mewshaw himself was denied a credential to Miami's Lipton Open shortly after publication. If the whole issue has become slightly more high-profile in the last couple of years, that owes much to the taboo-breaking comments of people such as Shriver, Azarenka and Cavaday. To its credit, the WTA has responded to what we might call tennis's #MeToo moment. Having appointed Lindsay Brandon as its first head of safeguarding in 2022, it released a new code of conduct shortly before Christmas, and is now acting upon it. We may not have heard the last of the Vukov case, especially as he appears to have Rybakina's support. But if nothing else, WTA Portia Archer– who only joined the WTA as chief executive in August – has taken the organisation into new territory with this bold stand. Broaden your horizons with award-winning British journalism. Try The Telegraph free for 1 month with unlimited access to our award-winning website, exclusive app, money-saving offers and more.
Telegraph
13-02-2025
- Sport
- Telegraph
Tennis has a dirty secret but is cleaning up its act
Quietly and without any great fanfare, tennis has just taken a major step in confronting one of its dirtiest secrets: the all-too-common abuse or exploitation of players, especially young female players, by coaches or other 'support' staff. The latest allegation centres on Stefano Vukov, who works with the 2022 Wimbledon champion Elena Rybakina. A 37-year-old Croatian, Vukov was denied a credential for January's Australian Open on the basis of On Tuesday night, that suspension was confirmed in a WTA email. The ban is understood to relate to instances of verbal and mental abuse towards Rybakina, and to last for a year. Vukov denies any wrongdoing, and has the right to appeal. But the very fact that the WTA has intervened is a rarity indeed. Instances of the tour excluding team members in an attempt to protect players are almost unheard of. Previous examples have been largely confined to While not completely unprecedented, you have to go back a long way to find a coach receiving a ban for his or her treatment of players (as opposed to betting or corruption offences, which does occasionally happen at the lower levels of the game). In the mid-2000s, the WTA enacted a life ban on Joe Giuliano. A former player who once moved in the same social circles as Vitas Gerulaitis and John McEnroe, Giuliano ceased to be a part of the tennis scene after being accused of predatory conduct. The lack of any other known cases in the past 20 years does not, however, mean that coaches have always been professional in their relationships with players. It simply means that this is a taboo subject which only rarely breaks cover. 'If I had a daughter, would she want to play tennis? That would concern me' One of those unusual occasions happened at the 2022 US Open, when the former world No 1 Invited to expand, Azarenka added: 'It happens right and left on the tour… because we see those vulnerable young ladies that [are] getting taken advantage of in different situations. If I had a daughter, I would have a question: would she want to play tennis? That would be a very big concern for me.' Indeed, Rybakina is not the only former Wimbledon champion to be associated with allegedly inappropriate coaching relationships. Three years ago, Shriver has since used her position as a leading commentator, coach and pundit to highlight the potential problems that the tennis tour keeps throwing up. In fact, Shriver posted a critical post on X in January (see below) when Rybakina announced that Vukov was returning to her team, calling it a 'sad situation'. Unfortunately, tennis's mechanics make it all too easy for professional relationships to stray into more complicated territory. For one thing, young players making their way on the tour often share rooms with their coaches to save money. And then there is the essential insecurity of the coach's role. Eighteen months ago, 'Being a coach on the tour is an incredibly insecure job,' Cavaday said. 'Which leads to a lot of this unprofessional behaviour. It helps the coach feel a bit more secure if he has created a much closer personal relationship. I often see coaches leaning on that to make it harder for female players to get rid of them from their team.' At certain times in the past, the WTA has tried to suppress discussion of these issues – as when the investigative journalist Michael Mewshaw addressed them in a revealing book called Ladies of the Court . Published in 1993, the book reported players talking openly about their rivals' relationships with coaches, with the former Wimbledon finalist Hana Mandlikova describing one such situation as 'sickening'. But Ladies of the Court was banned from being sold at official tour events, while Mewshaw himself was denied a credential to Miami's Lipton Open shortly after publication. If the whole issue has become slightly more high-profile in the last couple of years, that owes much to the taboo-breaking comments of people such as Shriver, Azarenka and Cavaday. To its credit, the WTA has responded to what we might call tennis's #MeToo moment. Having appointed Lindsay Brandon as its first head of safeguarding in 2022, it released a new code of conduct shortly before Christmas, and is now acting upon it. We may not have heard the last of the Vukov case, especially as he appears to have Rybakina's support. But if nothing else, WTA Portia Archer– who only joined the WTA as chief executive in August – has taken the organisation into new territory with this bold stand.
NBC Sports
13-02-2025
- Sport
- NBC Sports
Rybakina ‘disappointed' about coach Vukov's suspension after WTA investigation
DOHA, Qatar — Elena Rybakina said on Wednesday she was 'disappointed' with the WTA Tour's decision to ban for her former coach Stefano Vukov following the governing body's investigation into a potential breach of its code of conduct. 'I'm just disappointed with the situation, and how the process went. I'm not going to comment much on that anymore,' Rybakina told reporters after her victory over Rebecca Sramkova at the Qatar Open. On Tuesday, the WTA said it had completed its investigation on Vukov and that his suspension 'remains in place.' It did not specify how much longer he would remain banned. The Croatian coach, who had been under a provisional suspension, has denied wrongdoing. Rybakina, the 2022 Wimbledon champion, said last month at the Australian Open that Vukov ' never mistreated me ' in their years working together and that she disagreed with the provisional suspension.
