The WTA has lifted the suspension on Stefano Vukov, coach of 2022 Wimbledon champion Elena Rybakina, following a successful appeal, allowing him to resume coaching and access WTA events, as announced on August 8, 2025, by The Athletic and Express.co.uk. Vukov was provisionally suspended in January 2025 amid an investigation into alleged verbal abuse and abusive conduct toward Rybakina, with a one-year ban issued on January 31 after findings of “abuse of authority,” including derogatory remarks like calling Rybakina “stupid” and “retarded” and saying she’d “still be picking potatoes” without him, per Yahoo Sports. The investigation also noted Vukov’s post-dismissal behavior, including flooding Rybakina’s phone with calls and messages and lingering in her hotel lobby, raising safety concerns among her team, as reported by The New York Times.
Vukov appealed the ban before the 2025 French Open, entering private arbitration with a hearing held prior to Wimbledon, per The Athletic. The WTA confirmed, “Any sanctions issued following a breach of these safeguarding rules are subject to appeal before an independent tribunal. While case details remain confidential, we can confirm that Mr. Vukov is eligible to receive credentials at WTA events,” per SFGATE. Rybakina, who split with Vukov before the 2024 US Open but rehired him in January 2025, consistently denied mistreatment, stating at the Australian Open, “He never mistreated me,” and criticizing the WTA’s handling as “not fair,” per 7NEWS. She briefly worked with Goran Ivanisevic and currently employs Davide Sanguinetti, who noted Vukov’s continued presence, saying, “Vukov and Elena are close, he will always be there,” per Gazzetta dello Sport.
The decision sparked mixed reactions. Posts on X, like @CDEccleshare’s, announced the lifting, while @safeguardlena called it “disgusting,” labeling Vukov a “danger to women.” Rybakina, ranked No. 9, is set to face Renata Zarazúa in Cincinnati’s second round, aiming to build on her Montreal semifinal run. The lifting of Vukov’s ban allows him to potentially rejoin her team officially, though Sanguinetti remains her on-site coach, per tennisuptodate.com.
