WTA confirms Elena Rybakina’s coach Stefano Vukov provisionally suspended for allegedly breaching Code of Conduct

Stefano Vukov has been denied a WTA credential which means he won't be able to be in Elena Rybakina's box during the Australian Open.

WTA confirms Elena Rybakina’s coach Stefano Vukov provisionally suspended for allegedly breaching Code of Conduct

Elena Rybakina, Stefano Vukov (Images via X)

After Elena Rybakina confirmed on Instagram that her former coach Stefano Vukov will be joining her team, reports emerged that the Croatian coach has been provisionally suspended by the WTA for breaching a Code of Conduct.

Vukov has often been criticized for his exuberant celebrations, and there were also allegations of him abusing Rybakina. The Kazakh ace, however, denied those allegations as she repeatedly defended him whenever asked to comment on their collaboration.

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Now that Vukov rejoined Rybakina’s team, a WTA spokesperson, as per The Athletic, stated that Vukov has been provisionally suspended because of complaints about his conduct. No other details were revealed as the investigation is still going on.

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The WTA can confirm that Stefano Vukov is currently under a provisional suspension pending an independent investigation into a potential breach of the WTA Code of Conduct.

A WTA spokesperson said in a statement

Rybakina had parted ways with Vukov last year just before the US Open. Then in November, Rybakina hired Goran Ivanisevic, who had a successful six-year coaching stint with men’s World No. 7 Novak Djokovic, guiding the Serb to nine of his 24 Grand Slam titles.

And while Ivanisevic will be in Melbourne for the Australian Open, there were rumors of Vukov too landing in Melbourne to support Rybakina but he has been denied a WTA credential.

As part of the provisional suspension, Mr. Vukov is not eligible to obtain a WTA credential at this time. While the WTA does not typically comment on active investigations, we believe it is necessary to clarify this matter due to recent public statements that misrepresent the situation. We will not provide further details at this point in time.

The WTA spokesperson added

Elena Rybakina’s coach Stefano Vukov said he never abused anyone

The entire tennis world was shocked after knowing that Elena Rybakina had re-hired her coach. Tennis Hall of Famer Pam Shriver, who now coaches Donna Vekic, suspects abuse. A former player from America, CoCo Vandeweghe, believes the reason Rybakina had fired Vukov in August was that things were ‘the healthiest‘.

Stefano Vukov, Elena Rybakina
Stefano Vukov, Elena Rybakina (Image via X)

As per The Athletic, Elena Rybakina‘s coach Stefano Vukov, before his flight to Australia from Dubai, denied those allegations as he doesn’t think he ever abused anyone.

Definitely never abused anyone.

Stefano Vukov wrote in a text message

The tennis community is waiting to see how the investigation unfolds as Vukov’s presence in Melbourne despite not being a part of Rybakina’s box during matches would put her constantly in the media spotlight.