For the first time since the WTA chose to uphold Stefano Vukov's ban, Elena Rybakina has shared her thoughts about the situation involving her former coach.
The world No.7 worked with Vukov for five years before announcing their split in August last year, as she experienced inconsistent results.
Only a few weeks after the announcement, Vukov was accused of harassing and mistreating his player, with the WTA stepping in and conducting a full investigation.
Earlier this week, the professional women's tennis governing organisation confirmed they concluded that Vukov's provisional suspension will stand, meaning the 37-year-old will be forced to see out his one-year ban.
"Following this process, the suspension remains in place," the WTA said in a statement.
"To protect the confidentiality and integrity of the investigation and its findings, the WTA will not provide further details.
"We remain committed to ensuring that all matters are handled in a fair and objective manner in accordance with the WTA code of conduct."
However, Rybakina has always defended Vukov, claiming he had "never mistreated" her.
As expected, the former Wimbledon champion was asked about the WTA's findings after stepping off the court in Doha, but refused to go into detail.
"I’m just disappointed with the situation and how the process went. I’m not going to comment much on that anymore," she told reporters after her win against Rebecca Šramková at the Qatar Open.
"I'm focusing on my matches, and when I go on the court, I'm thinking only about the way I need to play, so I'm concentrating on myself, and also, of course, on the opponent.
"Definitely, it's not the best time, but as I said, I'm always focusing on my matches and want to perform as best as I can."
After her fourth-round elimination at last month's Australian Open, Rybakina parted ways with Novak Djokovic's former coach Goran Ivanišević in favour of former world No.42 Italian Davide Sanguinetti.
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