Elena Rybakina, the 2022 Wimbledon champion, says she disagrees with the WTA Tour’s decision to provisionally suspend her longtime coach, Stefano Vukov, and reiterated that she never made a complaint about him.

Elena Rybakina repeated in her Australian Open pre-tournament press conference that she was "never mistreated" by Stefano Vukov and also blasted Pam Shriver for making some claims when she even doesn't know her personally.

Vukov cannot coach while under investigation and Tennis Australia will not issue him with an accreditation for the upcoming Australian Open.

Vukov is barred from obtaining coaching or Grand Slam credentials, but Rybakina wants him back on her team — and could boycott the WTA.

In the weeks following Rybakina’s announcement, the ITF confirmed that Stefano Vukov had been temporarily suspended for breaching the sport’s code of conduct. Reports allege that his suspension was tied to instances of inappropriate behavior during matches, which included public criticism of Rybakina during high-pressure moments.

Sixth-ranked Elena Rybakina has defended her former coach Stefano Vukov after he was provisionally suspended by the WTA as the governing body investigates a potential breach of its code of conduct.

Elena Rybakina has confirmed rumors and she is indeed back to working with coach Stefano Vukov just four months after a split that occurred in pretty mysterious circumstances. At the start of the week, Russian tennis insider Sofya Tartakova claimed that the Croatian coach was set to accompany the Kazakh tennis star at Melbourne Park.

Elena Rybakina started the 2025 season brightly with many remarking that she had changed and had started to smile again after hiring Goran Ivanisevic. But she has decided to rehire Stefano Vukov to her coaching setup,

Elena Rybakina, the 2022 Wimbledon champion, said Saturday she disagrees with the WTA Tour's decision to provisionally suspend her longtime coach, Stefano Vukov, and reiterated that she never made a complaint about him.