Rennae Stubbs calls for lifetime ban on Rybakina’s coach amid mistreatment allegation

Rennae Stubbs, former coach of Serena Williams, insists that Elena Rybakina’s coach should be banned for life. Despite ongoing controversies surrounding alleged mistreatment of the Kazakh player, Stefano Vukov will continue coaching the former Wimbledon champion.

Addressing the situation, Stubbs stated on her podcast that the punishment was insufficient and should be permanent:"In that respect, that is her work environment saying, 'Sorry, this is unacceptable, you are banned for a year.' And quite honestly, I think he should be banned forever on the WTA Tour."

"There’s no question about it"

Stubbs also claimed that Rybakina and Vukov operate in a toxic environment:"Look, some of us know a lot more than others. I was clearly around this toxic environment with him and her quite often. I have spoken about it on the podcast many times, and you know, people did say, 'Well, it’s her decision."

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"Yes, it is her decision, but there are a lot of coercive-controlled relationships that get really toxic and really bad. Do I think she is in an environment that is not healthy for her? Absolutely! There’s no question about it."

Stubbs believes that multiple staff resignations within Rybakina’s team in recent months further confirm the unhealthy situation:"You don’t see her coach Goran Ivanisevic decide after this time, even though he enjoyed working with her, say, 'I'm outta here,' because he’s clearly seeing stuff that he’s not okay with too."

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"This really crossed the line": Tennis journalist Jon Wertheim lambasts Elena Rybakina and coach Stefano Vukov for 'messy business'

Despite the controversy, the current WTA No. 7 must shift her focus to her next challenge at the Dubai Duty Free Tennis Championships. She will face the winner between Moyuka Uchijima and Jelena Ostapenko in the round of 32. Recently, she reached the quarterfinals in Doha, where she lost to Iga Swiatek.

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