The Elena Rybakina-Stefano Vukov saga has been ongoing for the past six months now. The Croatian coach’s alleged mistreatment of her – both on and off the court – has come under scrutiny. On Wednesday, February 12, Vukov was handed an indefinite coaching ban, following WTA’s investigation into his breach of conduct. “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,” read the report. With the tennis community in complete disarray about the situation, an American ex-pro also chimed in to deliver his thoughts on the controversial situation.

Rybakina announced, ending her longstanding relationship with the Croatian just before the 2024 US Open. A few months later, she joined forces with Novak Djokovic‘s former coach Goran Ivanisevic. However, the World No. 7 shocked fans after “blindsiding” Ivanisevic with the reinstatement of Vukov to her coaching camp, days ahead of her Australian Open campaign. This not only brought an end to their trial coaching stint after the Kazakh suffered a fourth-round exit Down Under but, also a notification from the WTA clarifying that she couldn’t bring him back amid his provisional suspension back then. A successful five-year partnership that won Rybakina the 2022 Wimbledon is undoubtedly now in splits.

During a Thursday episode on his ‘Served with Andy Roddick’ podcast, the 2003 US Open champion said: “There’ve been rumors for years that this has kind of been a toxic relationship.” “There’ve been a lot of commentators who have sat near Vukov during matches and said that the way he operates is right there at the line of verbal abuse and that’s what we can see and that’s what he’s willing to do in front of thousands of people in a crowd,” he added. From what the latest reports show us, Roddick’s claim of the duo’s “toxic” dynamic seems spot on.

‘The Athletic’ recently published a report, underlining the contest of WTA CEO Portia Archer’s letter to Vukov, stating that the Croatian coach insulted Rybakina by name-calling her “stupid” and saying that without her, she would “still be in Russia picking potatoes.”

In her letter, Archer further went on to bodily assert that “It’s clear to me you have a toxic relationship,” and argued that their relationship fell outside the scope of WTA’s commitment to provide a safe environment to its players.

Both Vukov and Rybakina have maintained their innocence on the matter, where the latter also claimed that she “doesn’t agree with a lot of things what WTA do in the sense of my relationship with Stefano” and stated that she never filed any complaint against him during her AO run last month. Moreover, Rybakina was “disappointed” with the latest reports disclosing the indefinite ban on her ex-coach.

Elena Rybakina refuses to comment on Stefano Vukov’s WTA ban

The updates surrounding WTA’s decision to uphold Stefano Vukov’s coaching ban come amid Kazakhstani star Elena Rybakina’s strong run at the ongoing Qatar Open. She is yet to drop a set at the Middle East event and overpowered Rebecca Sramkova to confirm her quarterfinal spot.

Later, the World No. 7 told the media the Doha that she was “disappointed” with the investigation outcome and refused to divulge more thoughts on the matter. “I’m just disappointed with the situation, and how the process went. I’m not going to comment much more. I’m focusing on my matches, and when I go on the court I’m thinking only about the way I need to play. It’s not the best time, but I want to perform as best as I can.”

For now, as per Rybakina’s statement, she will look to focus on her Qatar Open run. She is slated to lock horns with Polish No. 1 Iga Swiatek for a place in the last four on Thursday, February 13.