Elena Rybakina has issued a defiant take on her snub of WTA CEO Portia Archer following her title triumph at the 2025 WTA Finals in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia. The snub stemmed from WTA's earlier ban on her coach Stefano Vukov, and according to Rybakina, the women's tennis governing body did very little to clear the air with her through meaningful conversation.On Saturday, November 8, Rybakina defeated reigning World No. 1 Aryna Sabalenka 6-3, 7-6(0) in the final of women's tennis' prestigious year-end event. Later, during an on-court photoshoot, which required both winner and runner-up to pose alongside WTA chief Portia Archer, the Kazakh refused to oblige, producing a rather awkward moment as Sabalenka alone stood alongside Archer.Subsequently, when asked by the media about her controversial act of snubbing Archer for the customary photo, Elena Rybakina said that there were several opportunities for the WTA to reach out to her and resolve the differences between them over coach Stefano Vukov's ban. However, the Kazakh claimed that there was little to no communication from the WTA's end."I think we're all doing our job and we had the opportunity to have conversations but in the end it never happened so we're all doing our job and I think we're going to keep it this way," Rybakina said. (as relayed yby prominent tennis journalist Reem Abulleil on X from a Franch 24 report)In early 2025, the WTA deemed that Vukov had breached its Code of Conduct through his behavior with Rybakina, which, based on several accounts, had been verbally abusive over the years. This led to Vukov being banned for a year. Meanwhile, the Kazakh maintained that the Croatian coach had done nothing wrong. Eventually, the ban was lifted in August after she successfully appealed the WTA's judgment.Elena Rybakina spoke up about having "good communication" with coach Stefano Vukov in AugustStefano Vukov (left) and Elena Rybakina (right) at the 2025 Pan Pacific Open (Source: Getty)Stefano Vukov's ban was lifted in time for him to join Elena Rybakina at the 2025 US Open. Here, following Rybakina's third-round victory against Emma Raducanu, the Kazakh candidly spoke about what it meant for her to have Vukov back in her box again."Seeing Stefano in the box definitely helps a lot, and I think it's important when the whole team can support him. I never had any issues with him. So for me, as I said, it's just nice to see him in the box. We always have good communication, and we've never had an issue," Rybakina said.The Kazakh's title-winning campaign at the WTA Finals sees her ending the year as the World No. 5, two spots below her career-high ranking of No. 3, which she reached in 2023.