Elena Rybakina just announced her resignation and departure to…

It seems like the road has been anything but smooth for Elena Rybakina this season. The Kazakh tennis star, once riding high, has faced a dip in her performance since her title win at the Porsche Tennis Grand Prix back in April. Adding to the on-court struggles, her recent split with coach Stefano Vukov has stirred up even more challenges, with serious allegations against him now dominating headlines. As the drama continues to take center stage, Aryna Sabalenka‘s coach, Anton Dubrov, has jumped into the conversation, offering his own take on the controversy.

The controversy erupted after a tennis bigwig and Russian journalist, Sofya Tartakova dropped a bombshell during an interview. She claimed that Rybakina faced distressing situations with her coach and alleged that the Croatian coach was even banned from WTA, although there was no official confirmation on the issue. Now, adding to the saga, Dubrov has offered his insights and highlighted what could have gone wrong between the two.

The Belarusian coach engaged in an interview with Vesti and shared his insights into the matter. When quizzed if Vukov was actually banned, Dubrov said that he himself came to know about the news on social media. “It’s not something that’s discussed on tour,” he shared. However, he did not fail to offer reasons that could have caused the alleged ban.

“Sometimes, when a person finishes working with someone, he can write to the WTA in a fit of emotion, asking them to remove him from everything.” He claimed that it could be due to a rift between Rybakina and Vukov that might have compelled the Kazhak player to approach WTA and request changes. “Maybe it was his request. Maybe they had such a fight that she approached the WTA and asked them to remove his name, that he was coaching her. There were internal matters.” He shared that since the entire saga emerged during the US Open, he could not engage in a direct conversation with Vukov.

Remember, Vukov has often witnessed flak for his aggressive coaching style and his alleged disrespect towards Rybakina. However, the star player herself came out in his defense previously and said, “I would never accept a coach that didn’t respect me and all our hard work.” But after their split ahead of the US Open, shocking claims were made which were further fueled by Tartakova, who said that there was more to Rybakina’s withdrawals.