Stefano Vukov successfully appealed the WTA's suspension and now he has been cleared to return to coaching, via The Athletic.
When Elena Rybakina returned to the Croatian coach to her team a few days into 2025, the WTA only then confirmed that there had been an ongoing investigation into the 38-year-old possibly breaching the conduct policy. In early February, the investigation concluded and the Kazakh's coach was slapped with a one-year ban.
However, Vukov refused to sit quietly and he lodged an appeal. Seven months later, he won his case and will be allowed to rejoin Rybakina's staff.
WTA's statement on the Vukov case
“The WTA is fully committed to providing a safe and respectful environment for all athletes and other participants, as set out in our WTA Code of Conduct and Safeguarding Code. Any sanctions issued following a breach of these safeguarding rules are carefully considered and are subject to appeal before an independent tribunal. While case details remain confidential, we can confirm that Mr. Vukov is eligible to receive credentials at WTA events. We will not be commenting further," the WTA said in a statement to The Athletic.
After it was revealed that the WTA had an ongoing investigation into Vukov's behavior, Rybakina publicly defended her coach by stating that she was "never mistreated" or anything like that. While the 2022 Wimbledon champion strongly defended her coach on several occasions, it didn't help much since the WTA still found the 38-year-old guilty and removed him from coaching.
A couple of days after the Croatian's ban, Rybakina added former Italian tennis player Davide Sanguinetti to her team. Now that Vukov has been cleared to return to the team, the 26-year-old is set to collaborate with two coaches at once.
Rybakina worked with the 37-year-old during the past seven months, but they were not allowed to meet on official tournament sites and the Croatian coach also wasn't permitted to enter the locker rooms or sit in the Kazakh's box.
