"My father was punching me with his fists... I couldn't even sit" - Former WTA pro Vasilisa Bardina reveals horrific abuse that left her traumatized

Abuse by coaches and even family members in sports is, unfortunately, not a new story, and tennis is no exception. Over the years, several such cases have come to light, with the latest being that of former Russian WTA player Vasilisa Bardina.

Bardina turned pro in 2003 and showed promise early on, reaching the final of the 2007 Hobart International before falling to Anna Chakvetadze. She achieved a career-high ranking of World No. 48 and secured two titles on the ITF Women's Circuit, though she never won a WTA Tour title in singles or doubles.

The Russian was coached by her father, Alexey Bardin, and has now shared shocking details about their relationship. Speaking on the Tennis on the Rocks podcast, she revealed that the abuse—both physical and verbal—began when she was just nine years old, to the point where she feared for her life.

Vasilisa Bardina endured her father’s abuse for years, but things escalated at the 2007 Australian Open. After losing to Kim Clijsters in the first round, she was beaten so severely that she knew she had to take action.

"The 2007 Australian Open was a breaking point. After making Hobart final I thought I could reach Top 30 by the end of the season but then I realized that no matter how well I had been playing my father was turning only more violent. He was deranged. After the Clijsters match it finally dawned on me that one day he was going to beat me up so badly it would leave me disabled. I was 19. I wanted to live," she said (translated by @AnnaK_4ever on X).

She turned to her colleague, Iroda Tulyaganova, who encouraged her to stand up for herself. Bardina then reached out to Kathy Martin, who was in charge of WTA player relations, and was given a safe place to stay:

"Fast forward to that Australian Open match... He beat me up again. The following day I went to practice courts just not to stay in the room with him. I tried to pretend everything was fine when greeting fellow players but finally decided to talk to Iroda Tulyaganova. She shared her own story and told me a very important thing: If I decide to cut ties with my father I must accept there must be no way back. Something clicked for me and I was willing to do it."

"I came to a WTA office on-site, told them I was being abused and asked for help and protection. They said they would do it. I explained I couldn't stay in the hotel with him nor at my friends' place because he knew where they lived. At the time, Kathy Martin from Australia was in charge of player relations in the WTA. She invited me to stay in her place," she added.

Vasilisa Bardina recalled another traumatic incident during the 2006 French Open when she lost in the qualifying round to Agnes Szavay. She said Alexey beat her so badly that her legs were covered in bruises, and she could barely sit. Despite her condition, he misled the doctors about the cause of her injuries.

"The year before, ahead of my first French Open qualifying I ended up in a hospital, my legs were blue he was punching me with his fists. I couldn't even sit after that. He then made up some story to explain my bruises to the doctors," she said.

Vasilisa Bardina admits to covering up her father Alexei's behavior initially

Vasilisa Bardina pictured at the 2007 Hobart International | Image Source: Getty

Vasilisa Bardina shared more details about the harrowing abuse she endured from her father, Alexey Bardin, on the Tennis on the Rocks podcast. She admitted that she tried to hide the truth for years, fearing the repercussions of speaking out.

According to Bardina, during the 2006 Wimbledon Championships, when she was playing in her first qualifier at SW19, a person who had previously helped her with accommodations came to visit them. However, he later reported her father’s behavior to the police. When they arrived and questioned her, she denied everything, saying she had "no idea" and was "perfectly fine."

"When I was playing my first qualifying at Wimbledon, a guy who previously helped us arrange practice courts and accommodation in America came to visit us in London. Just a few days spent around my father was enough to scare him away but before leaving he filed a police report," she said.

She added:

"The police arrived at Wimbledon. A WTA representative called me to say, Look there's police here, they would like to talk to you about your father. But at that moment I was not ready to acknowledge the truth and said I had no idea what this was all about and I was perfectly fine."

Bardina revealed that after she reached out to Kathy Martin, her father’s WTA coaching accreditation was revoked, and she was provided with bodyguards for her safety.

She also admitted that she “dodged a bullet” by not boarding a particular flight from Australia to Thailand, where she was supposed to play a tournament. Later, she learned from a colleague that her father was on that plane, spending hours trying to “brainwash” her into believing his daughter was “ungrateful.”

"I was going to travel to Thailand for my next tournament and one of the fellow players suggested that we fly together but I decided to stay in Australia for a few more days," the Russian said. "When we eventually met in Thailand she told me, 'You won't believe it! I'm sitting on the plane, it's half empty and your father boards it too. Turns out he's flying from Melbourne to Moscow via Thailand. And all flight long he is brainwashing me about how ungrateful you are.'"

Vasilisa Bardina parted ways with Alexei the 2008 season before retiring from professional tennis in 2012. The final years of her career on the WTA Tour were plagued by injury setbacks.