Elena Rybakina’s coach, Stefano Vukov, had his WTA suspension lifted effectively immediately.
This comes nearly seven months after the WTA issued a year-long ban of Vukov.
WTA statement to The Athletic about lifting the suspension of Stefano Vukov.
He can comeback to any WTA event today.#WTA pic.twitter.com/OcRGXqOV7w— Sebastien G. (@sebsharfam2) August 8, 2025
Many asserted that Vukov was emotionally abusive to Rybakina though she never agreed to that being the case.
According to the Athletic, sources say Stefano Vukov subjected Elena Rybakina to mental abuse.
The alleged mental abuse pushed her to the brink and caused her to become ill.
They also said he harassed her and refused to leave her alone after she ended their coaching… pic.twitter.com/tqpiXoyjUX
— The Tennis Letter (@TheTennisLetter) February 12, 2025
For months, she has defended him, and he has been believed to be working behind the scenes.
Vokov could be in Rybakina’s box this week in Cincinnati. Her first Cincinnati Open match is scheduled for Saturday at 2:10 PM ET.
Elena Rybakina Finally Deflected The Vukov Questions
After answering questions and having media people share their opinions on the Rybakina-Vukov relationship, Rybakina got fed up with people who did not know her or Vukov personally talking about it. She finally got past the endless questioning.
The questions heated up again after Goran Ivanisevic‘s brief involvement as part of the Rybakina team.
Now that they have diminished, Rybakina may begin to be asked again about why the ban was lifted.
It seems the details are sparse about what has changed. As of now, neither the WTA nor Vukov has directly commented.
Elena Rybakina Is World No. 10
Rybakina lost in the semifinal to eventual Canadian Open champion Victoria Mboko.
She is having a decent season which puts her at World No. 10 in the WTA live rankings. Rybakina is about 500 points outside the top eight who would be the contenders for the 2025 WTA Finals.
