Tennis Controversies of the Week: Novak Djokovic questioned over superfan's mockery directed at Jannik Sinner; shocking claims about Elena Rybakina's ex-coach Stefano Vukov cause an uproar; and more

Tennis journalist Jon Wertheim received backing after calling out Novak Djokovic's silence on superfan's controversial remarks about Jannik Sinner. In other news, Elena Rybakina’s former coach Stefano Vukov drew criticism for the Kazakh's health challenges.

Meanwhile, Kim Clijsters came under fire for proposing ball kids return to towel duties following Carlos Alcaraz’s heated debate with the chair umpire in the first round at the China Open. Coco Gauff's former coach Brad Gilbert lashed out at WADA for appealing Jannik Sinner’s doping verdict and seeking a two-year suspension.

Also, ESPN received criticism from netizens for putting WNBA star Caitlin Clark in the same league as American legends Serena Williams, Simone Biles, and Katie Ledecky.

On that note, here's a recap of the top controversies from last week:

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Tennis journalist received support after criticizing Novak Djokovic for not condoning superfan's controversial remark on Jannik Sinner

Tennis journalist Jon Wertheim garnered support after criticizing Novak Djokovic’s superfan for comments directed at Jannik Sinner, who had recently lost his aunt. Sinner, fresh off his 2024 US Open victory, dedicated the win to his aunt, who had been ill. Earlier this week, it was revealed that she had passed away from an undisclosed illness.

In response, Djokovic’s superfan, Pavvy G, known for criticizing Sinner following the Italian’s doping test controversy, criticized the Italian for continuing to compete while his aunt was sick. The now-deleted post on X (formerly Twitter) drew backlash.

"With his Aunty so poorly and now unfortunately passed away, he didn't missed a single event for Gucci or the Olympics promotion in the last week and is now in Beijing. A sad loss for him and his family but sometimes missing sponsors obligations is important when family involved?" he wrote.

Wertheim voiced his disapproval of the superfan’s actions on social media, questioning whether athletes should confront fans who are becoming “prominent” and “offensive” with such remarks.

"This is a legit question, not limited to tennis....what level of responsibility - if any - do today's athletes bear w/r/t their more prominent/vocal/offensive stans? ...Would a public repudiation to this kind of rot do any good?" Wertheim wrote.

Top seed Jannik Sinner is currently in Beijing, defending his title at the China Open. The Italian tennis star cruised past Nicolas Jarry and Roman Safiullin to reach the quarterfinals, where he will take on Jiri Lehecka on September 30.

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Elena Rybakina’s ex-coach Stefano Vukov received criticism for the Kazakh's health troubles

Controversy has erupted among tennis fans following reports about Elena Rybakina’s health struggles and the dismissal of her coach, Stefano Vukov. Vukov, who coached Rybakina for five years, was let go just before the 2024 US Open.

In a YouTube interview on 'Tennis Bolshei,' journalist Sonya Tartakova made a bold claim, suggesting that Vukov's negative behavior may have contributed to Rybakina’s frequent injuries and tournament withdrawals, impacting her mental and physical well-being.

"All these difficulties that she faces, she faces because of a lot of very heavy pressure associated with her former coach Vukov. I don't want to say big words, not quite the correct attitude of her mentor towards her. That is, he "ate" her all the time, as people who surrounded Lena say," Tartakova said.

Vukov had faced ongoing criticism from fans and tennis insiders for his controversial coaching methods. Reports later surfaced that Vukov had been removed from the WTA coaches list and possibly banned from the Tour.

In a recent interview with Championat, Aryna Sabalenka's coach Anton Dubrov commented on these reports, stating that the issue wasn’t widely discussed among coaching teams out of respect for privacy.

"I saw it on social networks. This is not discussed within the tour. Since tennis is an individual sport, the teams remain within themselves due to competition. And it is rare that you enter into another team’s personal spaces," Dubrov said.

However, he speculated that Vukov might have requested to be removed from the list in an emotional moment, or that the Kazakh tennis star herself could have approached the WTA following a disagreement with her former coach.

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Kim Clijsters landed in hot water for suggesting ball kids resume towel duty after Carlos Alcaraz’s umpire row at China Open

Four-time Grand Slam champion Kim Clijsters faced backlash for a controversial suggestion about ball kids following Carlos Alcaraz's heated exchange with the chair umpire during his 6-4, 6-4 victory over Giovanni Mpetshi Perricard in the 2024 China Open's first round.

This ATP 500 event introduced an automatic shot clock this year, allowing players 25 seconds to serve, with penalties for exceeding the limit. Alcaraz received two-time violations while serving out the first set, costing him his first serve on a key advantage point, which led to a tense dispute with the umpire.

In the post-match press conference, the Spanish tennis star voiced his frustration, noting that the new time rules didn’t give him enough time to catch his breath or retrieve a towel between points.

The rule preventing ball kids from handling towels was introduced after the COVID-19 pandemic, supplemented by a long protest from tennis fans who believe it's inappropriate for children to handle players' towels.

Clijsters took to X, advocating for a return to the pre-pandemic rule where ball kids could bring towels to players, thereby saving time.

"Bring back the rule where the ball boy/girl can bring the towel to the player," Clijsters commented.

Screengrab of Kim Clijsters' comment(Source: @tennischannel)

Second seed Carlos Alcaraz went on to defeat Tallon Griekspoor 6-1, 6-2 in the Round of 16 to reach the quarterfinals, where he will take on seventh seed Karen Khachanov. The winner of this match will take on either Flavio Cobolli or third-seed Daniil Medvedev in the semifinals.

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Coco Gauff’s ex-coach Brad Gilbert outraged over WADA’s appeal of Jannik Sinner’s doping verdict and push for a two-year ban

Coco Gauff's former coach, Brad Gilbert, criticized WADA's appeal to the Court of Arbitration for Sport (CAS) regarding the ruling of "no fault or negligence" in Jannik Sinner's doping case.

Last month, controversy arose when it was disclosed that Sinner had tested positive twice earlier this year for the banned steroid Clostebol. After initially being provisionally suspended, the Italian successfully appealed both cases, allowing him to continue competing while the situation was under review.

The ITIA accepted Sinner's defense, which stated that the steroid had been introduced unintentionally through a spray used by his former physiotherapist for an injury. Consequently, Sinner only lost his prize money and ranking points from the BNP Paribas Open in Indian Wells.

However, on September 26, WADA appealed the ITIA's decision to the CAS, requesting a suspension of one to two years for the Italian tennis star. In response to WADA's appeal, Gilbert expressed his frustration, noting that the amount of the substance involved was less than a gram of salt.

"I am completely disheveled by this Wada decision, was 8000 times smaller then a gram of salt this now will unfortunately take months to figure out, where is the players representation on this, other then Sin City paying for his own lawyers," Gilbert wrote.

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ESPN received backlash for putting Caitlin Clark with American legends Serena Williams, Simone Biles, and Katie Ledecky

ESPN faced backlash for placing WNBA star Caitlin Clark in the same category as American legends: Serena Williams, Simone Biles, and Katie Ledecky.

Clark made her WNBA debut this year with the Indiana Fever after being selected first in the draft. The 22-year-old delivered a record-breaking season, scoring 769 points and achieving 337 assists.

ESPN recently released a 'Trailblazing Athletes' list that included the 22-year-old’s accomplishments alongside Serena Williams' 23 Grand Slam titles, Simone Biles' 11 Olympic gold medals, and Katie Ledecky's nine golds.

Tennis fans expressed their outrage on X (formerly Twitter), arguing that Clark's achievements do not yet warrant comparison to these three women, who are regarded as some of the greatest athletes of all time.