London, Feb 12 (FN Bureau) The WTA Tour ban on Stefano Vukov, the former coach of world number five Elena Rybakina, has been upheld by an independent probe into his behaviour towards the player. The WTA – which governs women’s tennis – had in January provisionally suspended the Croat for allegedly breaching its Code of Conduct, BBC reported. On Tuesday, the WTA confirmed Vukov’s ban had been upheld. The 37-year-old has rejected the allegations while Rybakina said she was never mistreated by him. Confirming the conclusion of the investigation to BBC Sport, the WTA added: “Following this process, the suspension remains in place”, but declined to give further details, while expressing the body’s commitment to deal with the matter in a fair and objetive manner. It also did not specify how long the ban on Vukov will continue and which part of the WTA’s code he has breached.
Vukov can appeal against the decision.The decision means Rybakina will not be able to bring Vukov back on to her team – something she hoped to do at the start of the year.Concerns have been raised over the past few seasons by some, including coach and commentator Pam Shriver, about the way Vukuov spoke to Ryabkina on and off court at tournaments. Kazakhstan’s Rybakina, who won the Wimbledon title in 2022, said at last month’s Australian Open she has never made “any complaints” about Vukov, adding: “I don’t agree with a lot of things the WTA do in the sense of my relationship with Stefano”. Vukov has been working with Rybakina since she was a teenager and he helped her win her first Grand Slam at Wimbledon, but the association ended before last year’s US Open.Rybakina announced in January she wanted Vukov to rejoin her team but the provisional suspension meant he did not receive accreditation for the opening Grand Slam of the season.