{"id":438876,"date":"2026-01-28T15:27:12","date_gmt":"2026-01-28T15:27:12","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/438876\/"},"modified":"2026-01-28T15:27:12","modified_gmt":"2026-01-28T15:27:12","slug":"tennis-coach-investigated-after-purported-inappropriate-relationship-having-worked-with-13-year-old-player-before-getting-engaged-to-her-at-19-and-bullying-as-he-returns-to-sport","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/438876\/","title":{"rendered":"Tennis coach investigated after purported inappropriate relationship – having worked with 13-year-old player before getting engaged to her at 19 – and bullying, as he returns to sport"},"content":{"rendered":"

By MATTHEW LAMBWELL, TENNIS REPORTER<\/a> <\/p>\n

Published: 08:07 EST, 28 January 2026 | Updated: 08:08 EST, 28 January 2026 <\/p>\n

The WTA is investigating complaints made against a coach for a purported inappropriate relationship with a female player and bullying behaviour.\u00a0<\/p>\n

Spanish coach Rafael Font de Mora, after several years away from the tennis circuit, has recently joined the team of American Peyton Stears and \u2013 as reported by The Athletic<\/a> \u2013 two former players have lodged complaints against him to the WTA\u2019s safeguarding team.\u00a0<\/p>\n

One of those players is 22-time Grand Slam doubles champion Pam Shriver, while the other remains anonymous.\u00a0<\/p>\n

Shriver\u2019s complaint is primarily with regard to Font de Mora\u2019s relationship with Meghann Shaughnessy, who he coached in the 1990s and 2000s from when she was aged 13 \u2013 then became engaged to when she was 19, although they never married.<\/p>\n

Shaughnessy left her family home to live in Font de Mora\u2019s house with other tennis players when she was 14 and he was 25.\u00a0<\/p>\n

Font de Mora insists their relationship only became romantic when the player was 18, although reports at the time said Shaughnessy\u2019s parents twice tried to remove her from his coaching group.<\/p>\n

\"Anna-Lena <\/p>\n

Anna-Lena Groenefeld (left) previously said her old coach Rafael Font de Mora (right) made her ‘work like a puppet under him’ (pictured in 2006)<\/p>\n

\"Meghann <\/p>\n

Meghann Shaughnessy (above in 2007), was coached by\u00a0Font de Mora when she was 13 and then got engaged to him aged\u00a019. The coach insists they only became romantic when she was 18<\/p>\n

Shaughnessy has never alleged any wrongdoing by Font de Mora.\u00a0<\/p>\n

The other complaint raised against him is from a player he previously coached, who alleges that he displayed aggressive and verbally abusive behaviour towards her, such as swearing in her face and whacking tennis balls in her direction.<\/p>\n

A statement sent by Font de Mora to The Athletic read: \u2018Your 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.\u2019<\/p>\n

In 2007, Anna-Lena Groenefeld, another former client of Font de Mora, told\u00a0Kicker\u00a0magazine in Germany: \u2018For Font de Mora, I was his possession, his project. I also lived in his house later, so he had me fully in control at every turn. I just worked like a puppet under him.\u2019<\/p>\n

Stearns was asked if she knew about her new coach\u2019s history and replied: \u2018Yeah, I mean, it\u2019s been around, but, I think right now, just not really going to dive into that, no comment.\u2019<\/p>\n

It comes after Elena Rybakina\u2019s coach Stefano Vukov was banned by the WTA for a year in 2025 for \u2018abuse of authority and abusive conduct\u2019.<\/p>\n

Vukov denied any wrongdoing and is now back in the coaching box of Rybakina, who beat Iga Swiatek on Wednesday to reach the semi-finals of the Australian Open.<\/p>\n

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