The tennis world has been divided by the awkward aftermath of the WTA Finals, which saw Elena Rybakina refusing to be photographed alongside world No.1 Aryna Sabalenka and WTA CEO Portia Archer.

Rybakina had upset Sabalenka in the final 6-3, 7-6 (7-0) to claim her first trophy in the season-ending championships, but things turned ugly during the presentation.

Rybakina’s beef was not with Sabalenka, but with Archer who has been strong on trying to protect players from potential abuse from coaches.

That stance led to the ban of Rybakina’s former coach Stefano Vukov who was found guilty of a breach of conduct code in 2024 with the ban remaining in place at the start of 2025.

Rybakina, the 2022 Wimbledon champion, has previously said that Vukov “never mistreated“ her in the years they wo

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