ELENA RYBAKINA’S coach has been banned for a 12 months for psychological abuse of the world No5.

The Girls’s Tennis Affiliation has suspended Stefano Vukov, 37, for a 12 months over his alleged behaviour – however refused to reveal particulars of their investigation.

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A leaked letter from tour chief Portia Archer despatched to each participant and coach, as reported by The Athletic, claims Rybakina, 25, was pushed too onerous bodily and mentally, to the purpose she turned ailing.

Croat Vukov is claimed to have known as her “silly”, whereas telling the 2022 Wimbledon champion she would “nonetheless be in Russia choosing potatoes” with out him.

Russian-born Kazakh ace Rybakina has beforehand acknowledged she by no means made “any complaints” about Vukov’s conduct.

Eventually month’s Australian Open, she revealed: “I don’t agree with plenty of issues the WTA do within the sense of my relationship with Stefano.”

Vukov was slapped with a provisional ban by the WTA final 12 months after US legend Pam Shriver – Donna Vekic’s coach – went public together with her perception he was in breach of tour guidelines.

Following their investigation, the WTA have imposed the 12-month ban on Rybakina’s coach.

A press release learn: “Following this course of, the suspension stays in place.

“To guard the confidentiality and integrity of the investigation and its findings, the WTA is not going to present additional particulars.

“We stay dedicated to making sure that each one issues are dealt with in a good and goal method in accordance with the WTA code of conduct.”

Rybakina and Vukov labored collectively for 5 years, earlier than they ended their partnership – which resulted in a Wimbledon title and an Australian Open closing look – earlier than final 12 months’s US Open.

Throughout their time collectively, Vukov is alleged to have harassed Rybakina in a string of textual content messages.

The world No5 then named Vukov as a part of her workforce earlier this 12 months – regardless of his provisional ban stopping him from acquiring accreditation for the Australian Open.

Tennis legend Goran Ivanisevic, who changed compatriot Vukov in November 2024, subsequently walked away from the Kazakh’s workforce.

Vukov – who is simply in a position to coach Rybakina off-site – is ready to attraction his one-year suspension.

His solely hope of watching matches in individual could be as a ticketed fan within the crowd below the phrases of his ban.

Final 12 months, Russian journalist Sofya Tartakova informed the Tennis Bolshei YouTube channel about “psychological issues” Vukov had induced.

She mentioned: “All these difficulties that she [currently] faces, she faces due to plenty of very heavy stress related together with her former coach Vukov.

“They are saying that Stefano truly got here to the US Open, that he was in New York, was able to proceed working together with her, however Lena determined that they’d break up due to a really troublesome…

“I don’t wish to say huge phrases, not fairly the right angle of her mentor in direction of her.

“That’s, he ‘ate’ her on a regular basis, as individuals who surrounded Lena say. Rybakina’s mother and father stood up for her, as a result of she couldn’t break this vicious circle.

“On one hand, that is the coach who labored together with her since [a young age], and he or she herself, collectively together with her household, selected him.

“It’s clear that they have been very shut, she gained the principle achievements of her profession because of their joint work, [but] her mother and father insisted that Lena change one thing in her tennis life, as a result of there was stress, and insults, and unhealthy phrases mentioned to her. They have been continuously from Vukov’s lips.

“And now Elena Rybakina is struggling and attempting to eliminate psychological issues, so the scenario is, in fact, very troublesome for her, however we’ll see.”