Elena Rybakina has added Italian former player Davide Sanguinetti to her coaching staff and has reiterated her displeasure at the WTA’s decision to provisionally suspend her coach Stefano Vukov for allegedly breaching the tour’s Code of Conduct.
Rybakina ended her trial period with Novak Djokovic’s former coach Goran Ivanisevic following her fourth-round exit from the Australian Open last month and has brought in Sanguinetti to accompany her at tournaments and work with Vukov, who is banned from all sanctioned events pending the WTA’s investigation into his conduct.
Sanguinetti is with Rybakina this week in Abu Dhabi, where the world No 5 is the top seed and defending champion.
The 2022 Wimbledon winner says she has not been notified by the WTA about a date for the conclusion of the investigation and insists the situation “was not handled well”.
“I don’t know much. It’s a situation I’m not happy with. But it is what it is but for now I don’t know much,” Rybakina told AFP at the Mubadala Abu Dhabi Open on Sunday.
“Safeguarding is important but the case with what happened with us I don’t think it was handled well.”
Vukov told The Athletic that he “never abused anyone” and Rybakina feels she is not being heard.
“In the end of the day, you need to listen to the player, that’s the most important. Because as I said before there are a lot of comments from people which are also in our environment but they’re making comments not knowing me, not knowing him, and it’s just making a bad look for everyone.”
Rybakina says the coaching partnership with Ivanisevic was on a trial basis and the decision for them to part ways after just a couple of months of working together was mutual.
“We just sat down, we talked, and we decided to go our separate ways. But I learnt a lot and it’s not easy to find a good collaboration,” explained the 25-year-old Kazakh.
“It of course takes time and everything but that was our decision. We’ll see how this year goes for me. I’m also not such an easy player maybe like some people think, ‘Oh it’s easy with her’, or something, but it’s not really like this.
“Every person is different and there is no one who is perfect. I can be sometimes stubborn on the court, stubborn on some things, that’s at least my honest opinion.”
While Vukov is banned from joining Rybakina at tournaments, she says they are “communicating of course” and that he and Sanguinetti are always in contact, and spent some time together with her at a recent training block in Dubai post-Australian Open.
“He’s an important person in my career. We started when I was like 200 [in the world]. So it’s a lot of things, on the court, outside of the court, he’s helping out with,” she said of Vukov, who began coaching her when she was a teenager.
“I feel like of course it’s not ideal that he cannot be on the practice courts but at the same time we are finding a way also with help of Davide, his opinion. I hope it’s going to work out. We have a good team in the end of the day.”
Rybakina headlines a competitive field at the WTA 500 tournament in Abu Dhabi that also includes recent Australian Open semi-finalist Paula Badosa, world No 11 Daria Kasatkina, Tunisian star Ons Jabeur, and British wild card Emma Raducanu.
Main draw action kicks off on Monday with the final taking place on Saturday February 8.
Remaining fixtures
- August 29 – UAE v Saudi Arabia, Hazza bin Zayed Stadium, Al Ain
- September 5 – Iraq v UAE, Amman, Jordan (venue TBC)
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This article is part of a guide on where to live in the UAE. Our reporters will profile some of the country’s most desirable districts, provide an estimate of rental prices and introduce you to some of the residents who call each area home.
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Specs
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Range: 400km
Power: 134bhp
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Available: Now
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The internal combustion engine is facing a watershed moment – major manufacturer Volvo is to stop producing petroleum-powered vehicles by 2021 and countries in Europe, including the UK, have vowed to ban their sale before 2040. The National takes a look at the story of one of the most successful technologies of the last 100 years and how it has impacted life in the UAE.
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THREE
The six points:
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2. Foreign diplomacy must be left to the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and International Co-operation
3. Emiratisation is a top priority that will have a renewed push behind it
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How Tesla’s price correction has hit fund managers
Investing in disruptive technology can be a bumpy ride, as investors in Tesla were reminded on Friday, when its stock dropped 7.5 per cent in early trading to $575.
It recovered slightly but still ended the week 15 per cent lower and is down a third from its all-time high of $883 on January 26. The electric car maker’s market cap fell from $834 billion to about $567bn in that time, a drop of an astonishing $267bn, and a blow for those who bought Tesla stock late.
The collapse also hit fund managers that have gone big on Tesla, notably the UK-based Scottish Mortgage Investment Trust and Cathie Wood’s ARK Innovation ETF.
Tesla is the top holding in both funds, making up a hefty 10 per cent of total assets under management. Both funds have fallen by a quarter in the past month.
Matt Weller, global head of market research at GAIN Capital, recently warned that Tesla founder Elon Musk had “flown a bit too close to the sun”, after getting carried away by investing $1.5bn of the company’s money in Bitcoin.
He also predicted Tesla’s sales could struggle as traditional auto manufacturers ramp up electric car production, destroying its first mover advantage.
AJ Bell’s Russ Mould warns that many investors buy tech stocks when earnings forecasts are rising, almost regardless of valuation. “When it works, it really works. But when it goes wrong, elevated valuations leave little or no downside protection.”
A Tesla correction was probably baked in after last year’s astonishing share price surge, and many investors will see this as an opportunity to load up at a reduced price.
Dramatic swings are to be expected when investing in disruptive technology, as Ms Wood at ARK makes clear.
Every week, she sends subscribers a commentary listing “stocks in our strategies that have appreciated or dropped more than 15 per cent in a day” during the week.
Her latest commentary, issued on Friday, showed seven stocks displaying extreme volatility, led by ExOne, a leader in binder jetting 3D printing technology. It jumped 24 per cent, boosted by news that fellow 3D printing specialist Stratasys had beaten fourth-quarter revenues and earnings expectations, seen as good news for the sector.
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Despite that setback, Ms Wood remains positive, arguing that its “medicinal chemistry platform offers a powerful and unique view into chemical space”.
In her weekly video view, she remains bullish, stating that: “We are on the right side of change, and disruptive innovation is going to deliver exponential growth trajectories for many of our companies, in fact, most of them.”
Ms Wood remains committed to Tesla as she expects global electric car sales to compound at an average annual rate of 82 per cent for the next five years.
She said these are so “enormous that some people find them unbelievable”, and argues that this scepticism, especially among institutional investors, “festers” and creates a great opportunity for ARK.
Only you can decide whether you are a believer or a festering sceptic. If it’s the former, then buckle up.
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If you go
The flights Etihad (www.etihad.com) and Spice Jet (www.spicejet.com) fly direct from Abu Dhabi and Dubai to Pune respectively from Dh1,000 return including taxes. Pune airport is 90 minutes away by road.
The hotels A stay at Atmantan Wellness Resort (www.atmantan.com) costs from Rs24,000 (Dh1,235) per night, including taxes, consultations, meals and a treatment package.
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Friday, November 1 – Oman v UAE
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Other IPL batting records
Most sixes: 292 – Chris Gayle
Most fours: 491 – Gautam Gambhir
Highest individual score: 175 not out – Chris Gayle (for Royal Challengers Bangalore against Pune Warriors in 2013)
Highest strike-rate: 177.29 – Andre Russell
Highest strike-rate in an innings: 422.22 – Chris Morris (for Delhi Daredevils against Rising Pune Supergiant in 2017)
Highest average: 52.16 – Vijay Shankar
Most centuries: 6 – Chris Gayle
Most fifties: 36 – Gautam Gambhir
Fastest hundred (balls faced): 30 – Chris Gayle (for Royal Challengers Bangalore against Pune Warriors in 2013)
Fastest fifty (balls faced): 14 – Lokesh Rahul (for Kings XI Punjab against Delhi Daredevils in 2018)
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Top 10 locations for inquiries from US house hunters, according to Rightmove
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Engine: 6.2-litre supercharged V8
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GOLF’S RAHMBO
- 5 wins in 22 months as pro
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