What Elena Rybakina had to say about Stefano Vukov and team before and after WTA Finals snub debacle
Elena Rybakina’s post-match snub of WTA chief Portia Archer at the WTA Finals has caused a stir and she was also quick to praise her controversial coach Stefano Vukov during her post-match press conference.
The Kazakh player won the second biggest title of her career when she defeated world 1 Aryna Sabalenka in the final of the season-ending tournament in Riyadh, but there was an unsavoury incident during the trophy ceremony.
After collecting their trophies, Rybakina and Sabalenka posed for the traditional post-match photos before WTA CEO Archer made her way onto the court, but then the newly-crowned champion walked away.
When an official asked her to return to the centre, she gestured for them to go ahead without her.
The matter came up during the post-match press conference, but Rybakina refused to give a straight answer, saying she wanted “to keep the reason between her and the WTA chief”.
Rybakina’s coach Vukov, though, is no doubt at the heart of the situation following the decision to ban him earlier this year.
The Croatian was provisionally suspended by the WTA in September last year while they investigated him for breaking its code of conduct and in February this year a 12-month ban was confirmed.
After the investigation, Archer was the one to confirm the news and, according to reports, her summary stated that Vukov broke the code of conduct by “Engaging in abuse of authority and abusive conduct towards the WTA Player, including compromising or attempting to compromise the psychological, physical or emotional well-being of the Player; engaging in physical and verbal abuse of the Player; and, exploiting your relationship with the Player for further personal and/or business interests at the expense of the best interest of the Player.”
Vukov, though, rejoined Rybakina’s coaching team in January this year and in August his ban was officially lifted and she had a new-look team with the Croatian joined by physio Stefan Duell during the WTA Finals.
Before the tournament, she admitted that she only has “people I trust” on her team as several former members have departed since the Vukov suspension was initially made publicly.
“Definitely I learned a lot in the past I would say two years. Got more mature. Now I’m also already on tour long time, know many things. I’m happy that my team is set now. I have people I trust,” Rybakina stated before a match was played in Riyadh.
“I’m also free kind of doing my own stuff. No agencies, no nothing. Doing my own company. This is great. This is new steps for me.”
WTA Finals News
How Aryna Sabalenka broke stunning Serena Williams prize money record in landmark 2025 season
And during the post-match press conference, she higlighted the importance of Vukov and Duell.
“I would also like to thank my team: Stefano for always pushing me to my limits, for helping me improve, my physio Stefan, for trying to keep me healthy, and everyone for always being there, supporting me.
“I didn’t think about how the match would go, I just tried to stay solid from start to finish, which is very difficult against Aryna. It’s not easy when she has a good day with her serve, it was very close. I tried to stay strong, fight for every ball. I’m happy it went my way, I don’t know what would have happened if it had gone to a third set. I gave everything physically and mentally to stay focused.”
“The start of this season wasn’t great, but finishing it this way is amazing. The serve helped me a lot in this tournament, I served incredibly in the toughest moments.
“It’s one of my greatest achievements, playing at this level from start to finish against the best players.”
