Former doubles No.1 Pam Shriver has made her feelings public about Elena Rybakina's controversial decision to re-appoint Stefano Vukov as part of her team, less than 24 hours after the latter's suspension was confirmed by the WTA.
Yesterday, Rybakina announced on her Instagram story that Vukov, her former coach, would team up again despite splitting four months ago.
The move is designed for Vukov to act in a supporting role in Rybakina's coaching team after hiring former Wimbledon winner Goran Ivanišević as her coach for the 2025 season.
However, it comes after allegations linked Vukov to abuse and mistreatment of Rybakina during their time together, where the Kazakh achieved her maiden Grand Slam trophy at Wimbledon in 2023.
Shriver, a 21-time doubles Grand Slam champion, expressed her disappointment about the new developments given Vukov's alleged history.
"It's time for our entire sport to finally stand up to known abuse and cult like manipulations of players. This is a very sad situation and my prayers are with ER," the American wrote on X.
The strong response was met with backlash from fans on social media.
"Hope you lose your job for this," one X user replied.
"How do you know better than her? Maybe she doesn't need your prayers and can make up her own mind," another comment read.
According to The New York Times, Vukov will not receive accreditation at the upcoming Australian Open due to a 'potential breach of conduct'.
A statement by the WTA wrote: "The WTA can confirm that Stefan Vukov is currently under a provisional suspension pending an independent investigation into a potential breach of the WTA Code of Conduct."
Reports suggest Rybakina has been privately defending him, as Vukov denies any allegations of abuse.
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