PTPA executive director Ahmad Nassar claims the association absolutely hasn't turned a blind eye to the Elena Rybakina and Stefano Vukov situation but didn't reveal any details except stating that they were "heavily involved" in the case.
Before filing a lawsuit against the ATP, WTA, ITF and the ITIA, the PTPA would often defend players and support them in situations where they felt such action was needed. One of the biggest examples of that is PTPA's strong support for Simona Halep when the former world No. 1 was trying to clear her name amid the doping allegations.
Since the PTPA has the tendency to take a position in cases that usually draw lots of attention - or as some would call them controversial - some were surprised to see the association not addressing the Rybakina and Vukov drama, which resulted in the coach getting a one-year ban despite the Kazakh's strongly rejecting any claims of being exposed to verbal abuse and mistreatment.
Nassar: The PTPA has been heavily involved in the Rybakina-Vukov case, just not publicly
"It's very high profile, and it's very... I'll just say we've been heavily involved, just not publicly. And I'll leave it at that," the PTPA executive director told Ben Rothenberg for Bounces.
Nassar noted that "player welfare" is one of PTPA's biggest emphasis but it's unclear on which side they are exactly.
"Player welfare will always come first. So, Elena...yeah, we're heavily involved, just not publicly," he added.
While some praised WTA's decision to ban Vukov and even applauded the WTA for "protecting the player from herself," Rybakina wasn't happy at all with the ruling made in the case.
"I'm just disappointed with the situation, and how the process went. I'm not going to comment much more," the Kazakh tennis star at the WTA 1000 tournament in Doha in early February.
Since then, Rybakina has added coach Davide Sanguinetti to her team.
