After claiming the biggest payday in women’s tennis history, Elena Rybakina refused to pose for a photo with WTA Tour chief executive Portia Archer.
Rybakina, the 2022 Wimbledon champion, beat world number one Aryna Sabalenka in straight sets at the WTA Finals on Saturday.
But the Kazakh 26-year-old, who climbed to fifth in the world following the victory – which secured £3.98m in prize money – stood separate from Sabalenka and Archer during the post-match celebrations, despite being asked to join them.
Why?
Rybakina declined to say what her motive was, although the incident comes at the end of a season where the WTA issued a ban to her coach Stefano Vukov.
Vukov was suspended earlier this year after being found to have breached the WTA’s code of conduct, following an independent investigation into his behaviour towards the player.
At the Australian Open in January, Rybakina criticised the WTA, saying she did not “agree with a lot of things” the governing body was doing in regards to her working relationship with Vukov.
Rybakina has maintained that she was never mistreated by the 38-year-old Croat.
Vukov denied any wrongdoing and, having had his ban lifted in August, was present as Rybakina triumphed at the tour’s season-ending tournament.
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