Kazakhstan star Elkena Rybakina jumped to the defence of her former coach Stefano Vukov following the Croat’s suspension by the WTA over a potential breach of the women’s tour code of conduct.
Vukoc, however, has rubbished any wrongdoings as he stated that he had ‘definitely never abused anyone’.
Rybakina, who claimed the 2022 Wimbledon title under the tutelage of the Croat, revealed that she was never subject to any type of mistreatment from the 37-year-old.
“I can only say, and I said it already before, that he never mistreated me or it was never anything like that,” Rybakina said.
The Moscow-born Rybakina, who plays for Kazakhstan, added that she knows Vukoc on a personal level and that there were no concerns on the stated grounds during their working relationship.
“Stefano is rejoining the team because I have known the person for six years,” she added as she expressed that she would like for the coach to rejoin her team.
“Of course, I’m not really happy with the situation,” she added.
Rybakina, who went down to Polish counterpart Iga Swiatek in Kazakhstan’s defeat to Poland in the United Cup semi-finals in Sydney, stated that she has immense respect for the Croat from their time together and that he never maltreated her during their six years of partnership.
“But the only thing I can say is, he never mistreated me,” the 25-year-old reiterated.
“I have respect to him for everything he did from the very beginning,” he added.
Reports claimed that Vukoc was under the scanner for being excessively harsh and too intense on players.
“The WTA launched the investigation last year after complaints were made about his conduct, described as intense and at times harsh by others within the sport,” The Athletic said.
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