Andy Roddick suspects there still might be "some issues" between Elena Rybakina and the WTA, and that's why the 2022 Wimbledon champion reacted the way she did in Riyadh.
Moments after delivering a masterclass display to beat Aryna Sabalenka 6-3 7-6 (0) for her maiden WTA Finals title, Rybakina pulled off a move that drew more attention than her actual triumph - she went away from Artia Porcher when the time came for the finalists to pose with the WTA CEO. By doing so, the Kazakh tennis star clearly wanted to let the world know that she was still extremely frustrated with the WTA and their investigation and ban of coach Stefano Vukov.
Roddick on the Rybakina-WTA case: There still seems to be some issue
"I don't know that anyone's ever been worried about the on-the-court product with Rybakina when all is well, right? There has been some turmoil and obviously there's still some feelings about how everything went down and the fact that they suspended her coach. I don't know how else to define it. I won't go there but there's still seems to be some issue," Roddick said on his podcast.
Vukov appealed the WTA ban - and it was a success - he officially returned to Rybakina's team in August. Before the Croatian coach was banned, the 2022 Wimbledon champion insisted that she was never physically or verbally abused. When asked in Riyadh about refusing to take a picture with WTA CEO Archer, the 26-year-old suggested that the WTA didn't want to hear from her when she had something to say.
"I think we're all doing our job and we had the opportunity to have conversations but in the end it never happened so we're all doing our job and I think we're going to keep it this way," Rybakina told Reem Abulleil.
