The saga involving Elena Rybakina‘s former coach, Stefano Vukov, has taken another turn after Rennae Stubbs stated the Croatian wanted to sue her for comments she made regarding his behavior toward Rybakina.
Vukov was suspended for a year by the WTA after findings indicated he mistreated Rybakina during their time together. He coached the Kazakhstani player for over five years, helping her secure the 2022 Wimbledon Championships.
Despite their success, Vukov’s animated and aggressive coaching style sparked controversy, leading some to believe he was abusive and possibly even worse behind the scenes.
After parting ways with Vukov in August and taking a few months off from competition, there was widespread shock when Rybakina revealed he would return to her team for the 2025 season, prompting the WTA to disclose the investigation that led to his eventual one-year ban.
Although Rybakina maintains that Vukov never abused her, many who had raised concerns about him prior to the WTA’s investigation believe he deserved punishment and that the governing body was right to step in.
In an episode of the Rennae Stubbs Podcast, Serena Williams’ former coach Stubbs recounted her negative impressions of Vukov from a few years back, noting she did not accuse him of abuse at that time.
“I have seen him yelling at her, I could have been one of those witnesses. And I probably was one of those witnesses because they interviewed me years ago about him because I made comments on this podcast years ago about him. And I never said anything about him abusing her. I just said he was very negative.”
“And I felt like with a positive coach, wow, how much better could she be? Imagine how good she could be with a really positive coach. And so those are the comments I made about him. And then he actually contacted the WTA and wanted to come after me for making those comments.”
Stubbs then revealed shocking details from the WTA investigation regarding Vukov’s behavior. The Australian was unequivocal in labeling one aspect of his treatment of Rybakina as physical abuse.
“You would still be in Russia picking potatoes, that’s what he said to her. Now, the difference is the WTA are getting factual information from team members of Elena Rybakina. So you think about it, there are physios, there are fitness trainers that have been with her for a long time that are now no longer with her.”
“They saw the abuse, they saw the mental abuse. They saw him throwing tennis balls at her. That’s physical abuse. First of all, I have coached, I have been coached, I have seen other coaches, I know what abuse is and he is abusive to her, period.”
The former coach also disclosed that Vukov attempted to sue her for the comments she made about him a few years prior on her podcast.
“He came after me and wanted to sue me, OK, for saying things about him that were true, that have been now investigated for years are now true. He has been banned for a year now because what I told them years ago has been now backed up by several other people who are on her actual team.”
