Elena Rybakina defends former coach after provisional ban: ‘He never mistreated me’
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Rybakina announced that former coach Stefano Vukov would be rejoining her team ahead of the Australian Open. Former Wimbledon champion and World No 6 Elena Rybakina has defended her former coach Stefano Vukov after he was previously suspended by the women’s tennis tour (WTA).
![[Rybakina won Wimbledon while Vukov was in her team]](https://static.independent.co.uk/2025/01/04/16/GettyImages-1407707660.jpg)
Rybakina and Vukov ended their five-year partnership before last year’s US Open, with the 2022 Wimbledon champion then appointing Novak Djokovic’s former coach Goran Ivanisevic. But Rybakina, 25, announced that Vukov would be rejoining her team earlier this week and said Vukov has “never mistreated me” while the WTA investigation into his behaviour continues.
Rybakina was speaking after playing for Kazakhstan in their semi-final defeat to Poland in the United Cup, ahead of the start of the Australian Open in Melbourne on 12 January. “I said it already before that he never mistreated me or it was never anything like that," Rybakina said at the United Cup in Sydney.
“I’m working with Goran. I’m happy the way we’ve worked for a couple of weeks. Stefano is rejoining the team because I know the person for six years and there’s a lot of things we can do outside of the court too. “Of course I’m not really happy with the situation. 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.”.
