The WTA has confirmed that coach Stefano Vukov will remain suspended from the Tour following an investigation into his conduct.
Vukov, who rose to prominence in the sport from his work with Wimbledon champion Elena Rybakina, is prohibited from working at any WTA event during his suspension. He has been found guilty of breaking the code of conduct, but the exact details of the investigation have been kept private.
“Following this process, the suspension remains in place,” the WTA said in a statement on Tuesday.
“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.”
Vukov served as Rybakina’s principal coach until shortly before last year’s US Open when they abruptly parted ways. Three months later it was confirmed that he had been provisionally suspended due to breaking the Tour’s code of conduct. Rybakina has insisted that her mentor, who has been criticized for his behavior, hasn’t done anything wrong. At the start of this season, she unexpectedly added Vukov back into her team even though he is unable to gain credentials for tournaments.
“He’s an important person in my career. We started when I was like 200 (in the world). So it’s a lot of things, on the court, outside of the court, he’s helping out with,” Rybakina said of Vukov during an interview with AFP earlier this month.
“I feel like of course it’s not ideal that he cannot be on the practice courts but at the same time we are finding a way also with help of Davide (Sanguinetti), his opinion.”
Two sources speaking to The Athletic on condition of anonymity has shed light on the reason for Vukov’s suspension. It is claimed that the WTA informed Rybakina and Vukov of their findings on January 31st by its CEO Portia Archer. In a summary issued, Vukov was said to have called the tennis star ‘stupid’ and told her she ‘would still be in Russia picking potatoes’ without him.
Vukov is accused of causing mental abuse to Rybakina and pushing her to her physical limits which resulted in her becoming unwell. On top of this, he continued to violate the ‘no contact’ rule that was in place during his provisional suspension. Archer says he harassed the tennis player following his dismissal last year.
Vukov’s ban is reported to be one year and he has the right to appeal. Neither he or Rybakina have commented on the investigation findings.
Rybakina is currently playing at the Qatar Open where she is the fifth seed. She will play Rebecca Sramkova in her second round match on Wednesday.
