Yulia Vakulenko admitted that at a young age she became a victim of violence at the hands of her 41-year-old coach.
Former Ukrainian tennis player Yulia Vakulenko has revealed that she suffered sexual abuse from her coach when she was still young.
Currently, 41-year-old Vakulenko has become one of the heroines of a journalistic investigation by L'Equipe, dedicated to victims of violence by coaches.
According to Yulia, it all started in 1999 during the Roland Garros junior tournament. At that time, she was only 15 years old, and her coach was 41.
“We shared a room. He lay next to me, stroked me, hugged me. He said that he loved me very much, that I belonged to him, that I would become his wife and champion only thanks to him. I had to always obey, even in sexual relations. I was his thing. It was terrible suffering. You start to hate yourself, you think: “It's because I'm beautiful, it's my fault.” Everyday life turned into horror. I didn't want the morning to come.
I was always alone with him. He didn't allow me to communicate with others, controlled my phone, checked everything. If he was unhappy, he might not talk to me or train me poorly. It was real manipulation. He created this mental dependence. I was completely isolated, no one could help me. I didn't see a way out,” btu.org.ua quotes Vakulenko as saying.
The tennis player said that she eventually managed to find a way out of the terrible situation by getting injured shortly before her 18th birthday.
“I hit the basket with balls and broke my left hand. I couldn't train for two months and didn't return to him. I wanted to start a new life. And survive,” Yulia shared.
It should be noted that Vakulenko was Ukraine's number one tennis player in 2001 and 2003, and her personal best in the WTA rankings was 32nd place in November 2007.
Earlier it was reported that the 25-year-old footballer died while saving people during a fire in a nightclub.