Mubadala Abu Dhabi Open defending champion Elena Rybakina takes aim at WTA over coach ban

Russian-born Kazakhstani adds Davide Sanguinetti to her coaching staff while reiterating her frustration at absence of Stefano Vukov

Elena Rybakina has added Italian former player Davide Sanguinetti to her coaching staff and has reiterated her displeasure at the WTA’s decision to provisionally suspend her coach Stefano Vukov for allegedly breaching the tour’s Code of Conduct.

Rybakina ended her trial period with Novak Djokovic’s former coach Goran Ivanisevic following her fourth-round exit from the Australian Open last month and has brought in Sanguinetti to accompany her at tournaments and work with Vukov, who is banned from all sanctioned events pending the WTA’s investigation into his conduct.

Sanguinetti is with Rybakina this week in Abu Dhabi, where the world No 5 is the top seed and defending champion.

The 2022 Wimbledon winner says she has not been notified by the WTA about a date for the conclusion of the investigation and insists the situation “was not handled well”.

“I don’t know much. It’s a situation I’m not happy with. But it is what it is but for now I don’t know much,” Rybakina told AFP at the Mubadala Abu Dhabi Open on Sunday.

“Safeguarding is important but the case with what happened with us I don’t think it was handled well.”

Vukov told The Athletic that he “never abused anyone” and Rybakina feels she is not being heard.

“In the end of the day, you need to listen to the player, that’s the most important. Because as I said before there are a lot of comments from people which are also in our environment but they’re making comments not knowing me, not knowing him, and it’s just making a bad look for everyone.”

Rybakina says the coaching partnership with Ivanisevic was on a trial basis and the decision for them to part ways after just a couple of months of working together was mutual.

“We just sat down, we talked, and we decided to go our separate ways. But I learnt a lot and it’s not easy to find a good collaboration,” explained the 25-year-old Kazakh.

“It of course takes time and everything but that was our decision. We’ll see how this year goes for me. I’m also not such an easy player maybe like some people think, ‘Oh it’s easy with her’, or something, but it’s not really like this.

“Every person is different and there is no one who is perfect. I can be sometimes stubborn on the court, stubborn on some things, that’s at least my honest opinion.”

While Vukov is banned from joining Rybakina at tournaments, she says they are “communicating of course” and that he and Sanguinetti are always in contact, and spent some time together with her at a recent training block in Dubai post-Australian Open.

“He’s an important person in my career. We started when I was like 200 [in the world]. So it’s a lot of things, on the court, outside of the court, he’s helping out with,” she said of Vukov, who began coaching her when she was a teenager.

“I feel like of course it’s not ideal that he cannot be on the practice courts but at the same time we are finding a way also with help of Davide, his opinion. I hope it’s going to work out. We have a good team in the end of the day.”

Rybakina headlines a competitive field at the WTA 500 tournament in Abu Dhabi that also includes recent Australian Open semi-finalist Paula Badosa, world No 11 Daria Kasatkina, Tunisian star Ons Jabeur, and British wild card Emma Raducanu.

Main draw action kicks off on Monday with the final taking place on Saturday February 8.