Elena Rybakina's coach Stefano Vukov counts on support from Novak Djokovic's PTPA; throws shade at ATP & WTA over scheduling

Elena Rybakina's head coach Stefano Vukov has apparently knocked on the door of the Novak Djokovic-led Professional Tennis Players Association (PTPA) over scheduling woes on the ATP and WTA tour.

Djokovic founded the PTPA four years ago with Canadian tennis player Vasek Pospisil. The organization aims to safeguard players' rights and support them in raising their voices against any injustice on tour.

The PTPA recently posted on Instagram highlighting scheduling woes following Jannik Sinner's withdrawal from the 2023 Paris Masters. Sinner pulled out of the tournament following a 2:37 a.m. (local time) finish. He was scheduled to play his next match approximately 14 hours after the late-night finish.

"An extremely challenging 24 hours for Jannik Sinner led him to withdraw from the Rolex Paris Masters tournament due to fatigue from his late-night match. It's more important than ever for players to have a unified voice to address challenges like match scheduling," the PTPA wrote.

The Djokovic-led body also recalled Elena Rybakina's Canadian Open fiasco, where she was the victim of poor scheduling. The Kazakh had openly protested against the WTA leadership back then.

"While we're on the topic of match scheduling... players across tours have faced this issue for years. A call for change resonates louder and louder from the players every day," the PTPA captioned the Elena Rybakina post.

Elena Rybakina's coach Vukov shared the two posts from the PTPA on his Instagram account endorsing the organization's standpoint.

A couple of days ago, Aryna Sabalenka's head coach Anton Dubrov brought to the PTPA's attention the hardships faced by players at the WTA Finals in Cancun.

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Novak Djokovic urged younger players to join PTPA, said: "By supporting PTPA, you’re actually supporting yourself"

Novak Djokovic

Novak Djokovic urged his younger colleagues to join the PTPA as he felt they were the most reluctant to take the initiative.

"I invite all the players to recognize it, especially with the younger generations, they don’t want to risk too much. They think they want to be conservative, they want to focus on playing matches," the Serb said in August.

According to the 24-time Grand Slam champion, becoming a part of the organization meant securing one's rights and future. He said:

"They don’t want to lose what they’ve earned or what they are part of, which I understand and I don’t judge that but by supporting PTPA, you’re actually supporting yourself. You’re supporting your future."

The likes of Hubert Hurkacz, Ons Jabeur, Paula Badosa, John Isner, Kim Clijsters, and Sania Mirza are already a part of the PTPA.