Pam Shriver’s story, from the 1980s, is a chilling reminder of the potential for abuse in sports. Starting with her coach Don Candy at just nine, she rose to tennis stardom, but their relationship turned into an “inappropriate and damaging” affair, marked by emotional abuse. Now, 4 decades later, we’re seeing similar red flags with Elena Rybakina and her coach, Stefano Vukov. The 37-year-old’s verbal abuse has been well-documented, with him calling Rybakina “stupid” and telling her that without him she would “still be in Russia picking potatoes.” One of his most vocal critics has been Rennae Stubbs. Turns out, there’s a reason for Stubbs’s strong stance – they have a history.
On February 12, WTA released a statement following an internal investigation against Vukov. Prior to the investigation’s completion, Vukov was momentarily suspended. But now, the penalty has got elongated. “The suspension remains in place. To protect the confidentiality and integrity of the investigation and its findings, the WTA will not provide further details. We remain committed to ensuring that all matters are handled in a fair and objective manner in accordance with the WTA Code of Conduct,” read the statement from the agency.
Stubbs was quite happy about this news. Expressing her unfiltered opinions, in an episode of her podcast, dated February 15, she said, “I think, quite honestly, he should be banned forever on the WTA tour. He should not be allowed to be able to come on the tour and work with any girl because that’s his tendency.” Well, now she’s backed up her words with proof. And guess what? It’s coming right from Stubbs’ own experience with Vukov. But what exactly happened between them?
In a new episode of her podcast, dated February 19, Stubbs talked about how WTA took crucial information from different witnesses in its investigation. She then revealed, “Listen, I have coached, I have been coached. I have seen other coaches. I know what abuse is. And he is abusive to her. Period…I could have been one of those witnesses, and I probably was one of those witnesses.” But how?
Well, it’s “because they interviewed me years ago about him, okay. Because I made comments on this podcast years ago about him, and I never said anything about him abusing her.” So what did she tell WTA’s team about the Croatian’s influence on Rybakina?
“I just said he was very negative, and I felt like with a positive coach how much better could she be. Imagine how good she could be with a really positive coach. And so those are the comments I made about him,” she added. However, what happened next completely shocked Stubbs.
She revealed that “he (Vukov) contacted the WTA and wanted to come after me for making those comments.” Stubbs never made this incident public. But after WTA’s statement on Vukov last week, she thought it was time to spill the beans. “He came after me and wanted to sue me, okay, for saying things about him that were true, that have been now investigated for years, are now true.”
But it appears there are even more details regarding Vukov that were hitherto unknown. A latest report throws light on how he once allegedly disrespected Rybakina’s mother’s request!
When Stefano Vukov reacted harshly to Elena Rybakina’s mother’s desperate plea
A report by The Athletic, dated February 18, revealed tons of new details on Elena Rybakina’s ex-coach. It also mentioned various instances involving Vukov’s rude conduct with the former World No.3. As it turns out, WTA’s chief executive officer Portia Archer submitted a three-page summary to Vukov. In that, she mentioned how he broke the Tour’s Code of Conduct by ‘ridiculing and abusing’ the Kazakh tennis player.
Archer also wrote that Vukov told Rybakina that without him, she would still be in Russia “picking potatoes”. Eventually, his tendency to push her “beyond her limits” caused her “physical illness”. That’s the reason why Rybakina, perhaps, withdrew from several WTA events last season.
The report from Archer further revealed that Rybakina’s mother was aware of Vukov’s toxic behavior. In fact, she even asked him not to make her daughter cry again. But Vukov didn’t acknowledge her request. Instead, he then pulled out from one of the events, refusing to coach the 2023 Australian Open runner-up.
On the other hand, Rybakina’s still defending her former coach. Despite WTA’s extended ban on him, she believes whatever has happened to him is just not right. Currently, she’s competing at the Dubai Tennis Championships. Following a first round victory over Japan’s Moyuka Uchijima, she reiterated her stance on Vukov. “It’s very disappointing the way it’s been handled, just the outcome.”
Furthermore, she also cited a lack of support from fellow WTA players. “There are couple players I’m in touch more. But to say that I have very, very close friends on tour, it’s I think not true just because we competing against each other. Everybody’s surrounded by their teams.” Amid all this chaos in her life, it seems her focus is completely on tennis at the moment. She just outclassed Paula Badosa in her second round in Dubai.
The post ‘Wanted to Come After Me’ – First-Hand Account From Serena Williams’ Former Coach Exposes Shocking Information About Elena Rybakina’s Ex-Coach appeared first on EssentiallySports.
