'WTA Planted Employees' To Watch Rybakina's Coach Vukov Claims Renowned Journalist
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Well-known journalist Jon Wertheim provided inside information about Elena Rybakina's relationship with Stefano Vukov after the Kazakhstani stunned tennis fans by adding him to her team again.
Rybakina announced on New Year's Day that Vukov would join her team for the 2025 season. He had been her coach for almost five years before they unexpectedly split a few days before the US Open.
That led to the WTA announcing that Vukov is under investigation on suspicion of mistreating Rybakina. There had been rumors about an investigation for some time, but the 25-year-old's surprising announcement meant the WTA was forced into revealing it.
Despite widespread concerns for Rybakina's well-being, she insists Vukov never mistreated her. The 2022 Wimbledon champion is also unhappy about the situation and believes the investigation is unnecessary.
Rybakina's words have not stopped many from worrying that the Kazakhstani's relationship with Vukov is toxic. The Croatian was regularly criticized for being harsh or even abusive to her during matches.
Journalist Sofya Tartakova reported last year that Rybakina had psychological problems after working with Vukov after working with him, which led to her being absent from the WTA Tour for over two months.
Rybakina's announcement that Vukov would return to her team was even more surprising because of her current partnership with Goran Ivanisevic, Novak Djokovic's former coach. She began working with him during the off-season.
Ivanisevic, who helped Djokovic win ten Grand Slams during their time together, recently commented ominously about the situation. The 2001 Wimbledon champion revealed he told Rybakina honestly what he thought and did not commit to staying as her coach long-term.
Wertheim regularly appears on the Served With Andy Roddick Podcast despite being previously suspended by the Tennis Channel for making an unsavory remark about Barbora Krejcikova's appearance while working as a contributor on the network.
The journalist apologized for his comment about last year's Wimbledon women's singles winner and has retained his position on Roddick's podcast. This allowed him to comment on Rybakina and Vukov in a recent episode.
Wertheim described his inside knowledge about the WTA's concerns with Vukov. That included the governing body installing people at Rybakina's matches to observe the Croatian coach's behavior.
"It has been an open secret that this has been an aggressive coach I've heard from other players, i mean this is dating back, multiple years. I've heard that at one point the WTA sometimes have had planted employees in the stands to sort of get a glimpse of this relationship first hand during matches."
"It was concerning to a number of people in the sport, some being Pam Shriver, is someone who has been open and vocal about this. At some point last year, a complaint was launched, i heard it was before the US Open, unclear who launched this complaint against the coach."
It is important to note that these are Wertheim's words and have not been confirmed by the WTA. However, the journalist has a good track record of accurately reporting events despite the controversy surrounding his comment about Krejcikova.
