THE WTA Tour are investigating one of its players’ coaches following two official complaints.
Spaniard Rafael Font de Mora, 57, has begun working with world No68 Peyton Stearns.
One of the complaints has come from former doubles world No1 Pam Shriver, while the identity of the other has been kept anonymous.
Per The Athletic, Shriver’s refers to Font de Mora’s relationship with former pro Meghann Shaughnessy.
He began working with Shaughnessy when she was 13-years-old in the 1990s, with the American leaving her family home to move to her coach’s academy in Phoenix, before eventually moving into his house when she was 14 and he was 25.
The pair went on to form a romantic relationship, and got engaged when she was 19.
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Font de Mora insisted that their relationship was not romantic until she turned 18.
A Sports Illustrated report from the time alleged that Shaughnessy’s coaching arrangement with Font de Mora led to her becoming estranged from her parents, who twice attempted to have their daughter leave her coach’s programme.
The USTA refused to provide Shaughnessy the sort of funding that one of their top juniors would normally receive – with suspicions of an “inappropriate relationship” with Font de Mora allegedly a factor in the decision.
Although the pair were engaged, they never married – going on to split in 2005.
Shaughnessy has never lodged a complaint against Font de Mora.
The other formal complainant against Font de Mora, per The Athletic, alleges that he “exhibited aggressive, physically and verbally abusive behaviour” towards her.
They add that this behaviour included “swearing in her face” and aggressively hitting balls towards her.
Responding to The Athletic’s request for comment, Font de Mora said: “Your questions are statements that are not true.
“I coordinate my training and sprints with professional trainers and biomechanist(s) and I am a very positive coach.”
Stearns, who reached round three of this month’s Australian Open, was asked about Font de Mora’s history.
The American, 24, said: “Yeah, I mean, it’s been around, but, I think right now, just not really going to dive into that, no comment.”
Font de Mora and Stearns completed a training block together ahead of this season, and now plan to travel together full time on the WTA Tour.
On his coaching methods, Stearns, who has known Font de Mora since she was 10, added: “One thing he’s been big on is, you know, what can you control?
“You know, I can’t control the wind today, so what are you going to do? What can you control about it?
“You can control your attitude, you can control your emotions, you can control how intense your feet are, you know, get to the ball because it’s windy.
“That’s been huge because it’s not about the results.”
Last year the WTA handed Elena Rybakina’s coach Stefano Vukov a one-year ban after finding him to have shown an “abuse of authority and abusive conduct” towards her.
The ban was lifted last summer following an appeal, and Vukov has been with Rybakina in Australia this month.
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