Sydney, Jan 5 (AP) Sixth-ranked Elena Rybakina has defended her former coach Stefano Vukov after he was provisionally suspended by the WTA as the governing body investigates a potential breach of its code of conduct.

Rybakina said this week that Vukov is rejoining her team but the WTA suspension means the Croat won't be accredited to enter player-only areas including practice courts and training areas.

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On Saturday, the 2022 Wimbledon champion told a press conference in Sydney that Vukov “never mistreated me” in their years working together.

“The only thing I can say is, he never mistreated me. I respect him for everything he did from the very beginning when I was (ranked No.) 200 all the way what we did,” the 25-year-old Rybakina said.

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Her current coach is Goran Ivanisevic as they prepare for the Australian Open.

“I'm working with Goran. I'm happy (with) the way we (are) working now for a couple of weeks," Rybakina said.

She said she's adding Vukov “because I know (him) for six years, and there is a lot of things we can do outside of the court too.”

“Of course I'm not really happy with the situation. I'm not happy with the comments which I see, especially from the people who are on the tour. It's active coaches, commentators. I don't think it's fair.”

Vukov told The Athletic that he “never abused anyone.”

In a statement, the WTA confirmed that Vukov “is currently under a provisional suspension pending an independent investigation into a potential breach of the WTA code of conduct.”

“As part of the provisional suspension, Mr. Vukov is not eligible to obtain a WTA credential at this time. While the WTA does not typically comment on active investigations, we believe it is necessary to clarify this matter due to recent public statements that misrepresent the situation.

"We will not provide further details at this point.” (AP)

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