MELBOURNE: Elena Rybakina, the 2022 Wimbledon champion, said Saturday she disagrees with the WTA Tour’s decision to provisionally suspend her longtime coach, Stefano Vukov, and reiterated that she never made a complaint about him.
“I always said that he never mistreated me,” Rybakina said at a news conference the day before the start of the Australian Open, where she was the runner-up to Aryna Sabalenka two years ago.
Rybakina, who is seeded No. 6 in Melbourne, characterized the whole thing as “definitely not the ideal situation” as she prepares to compete in the year’s first Grand Slam tournament, and said she objected to comments made by “some coaches,” mentioning Pam Shriver by name.
Rybakina announced right before last year’s US Open that she no longer was working with Vukov, then said ahead of this season that her new coach would be Goran Ivanizevic. He won Wimbledon in 2001 as a player and then was Novak Djokovic’s coach for 12 major titles.
But Rybakina said this month that Vukov would be rejoining her team. The WTA then said Vukov “is currently under a provisional suspension pending an independent investigation into a potential breach of the WTA code of conduct.”
The WTA added that “Vukov is not eligible to obtain a WTA credential at this time,” which would prevent him from going into player-only areas at tournaments such as practice courts or training areas.
Elena Rybakina disagrees with the WTA’s provisional suspension of coach Stefano Vukov
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Elena Rybakina disagrees with the WTA’s provisional suspension of coach Stefano Vukov
- She was the runner-up to Aryna Sabalenka two years ago at Melbourne Park and is seeded No. 6 this time
- Rybakina says she disagrees with the WTA Tour’s decision to provisionally suspend her longtime coach, Stefano Vukov
Pakistan captain rules out ‘major’ squad changes before T20 World Cup 2026
- T20 World Cup will take place in India in February, with Pakistan to play its matches in Sri Lanka
- Pakistan have recorded back-to-back T20I series victories over Sri Lanka, South Africa this year
ISLAMABAD: Pakistan captain Salman Ali Agha set his sights on winning the T20 World Cup 2026, ruling out any “major changes” to the squad before the megaevent next year.
The 10th edition of the T20 World Cup will commence on Feb. 7 next year in India. Pakistan will play all of its matches in Sri Lanka as per a deal brokered by the ICC that allows India and Pakistan to play each other at neutral venues.
Pakistan have tried left-arm pacer Salman Mirza, brought back former captain Babar Azam to the T20I squad and tried fast bowler Naseem Shah and played several all-rounders in the squad this year, including Saim Ayub, Mohammad Nawaz and Faheem Ashraf.
“I think our roles are defined and we need to give a chance in the next six games with consistency to this playing XI and those roles, so that we can head to the World Cup with confidence,” Agha said in a podcast with the Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB).
“I don’t think there will be any major changes because we were keeping this World Cup in mind since the last six to seven months in the way we were practicing or selecting the players for the team,” he added.
Pakistan will next play a three-match T20I away series against Sri Lanka before they head to the T20 World Cup.
The South Asian country has encountered success in white-ball matches recently, winning a tri-nation series tournament against Afghanistan and the UAE in September.
Agha also led his team to the final of the Asia Cup later the same month which they lost to India. However, he led the Green Shirts to wins against Sri Lanka and South Africa in the T20I series against both countries at home later.
