The Global Professional Tennis Coaches Association (GPTCA) has suspended the membership of Serbian specialist Vladimir Odobasich. The decision came amid the controversy sparked by his public endorsement of a Russian strike on the home of Ukrainian tennis player Daria Yastremska in Odesa. Sport RBC.UA reports this, citing the association's official website, where a corresponding note about the suspension of his status has appeared in the coach's profile.
According to Sport RBC.UA, the scandal began after Yastremska posted on social media a video showing the aftermath of another shelling of her hometown of Odesa, displaying the destroyed apartment of her family. In the comments under this video, Odobasich, who at the time was working as a coach in Malta, left the note "Bravo, Russia!", and also, according to the primary source, called for the destruction of Germany and Croatia. The accompanying photo shows the coach in a resort setting by the sea, consistent with his stated work base in Malta.
Timeline and content of the provocative comment
According to the published information, the sequence of events was as follows: first, Yastremska posted footage of the destruction in Odesa and the damaged family apartment on social media, after which Odobasich's post appeared in the comments section. It was precisely this post, combining approval of a strike on a residential building with calls to destroy entire states, that triggered a wave of outrage in the tennis community and in Ukrainian media. The reaction was swift: the incident quickly went beyond a single comment and became a subject of discussion at the level of professional associations.
GPTCA's reaction: membership status
After the incident gained publicity, the organization's position was formulated with utmost clarity. The following note appeared in the coach's profile on the GPTCA official website: "This membership is suspended and no longer in effect." The wording indicates not a temporary disciplinary measure, but the actual loss of an active status. Previously, Odobasich held the highest international A-Level category, which confirmed his standing among the association's certified specialists.
What this means for the coach's career
The loss of status means that Odobasich is no longer entitled to call himself a certified ATP specialist. This decision effectively closes the door for him to official work with top-level players at professional tournaments, where the accreditation requirements for coaches are the strictest. At the same time, according to the source's assessment, he formally retains the possibility of attempting to continue coaching at the amateur level. However, the incident itself, in the publication's words, dealt a crushing blow to the specialist's reputation, which in the long term may prove no less significant than the loss of the license itself.
Broader context: strikes on objects linked to tennis
The scandal involving Odobasich unfolds against the backdrop of a series of incidents affecting the infrastructure and families of Ukrainian tennis players. It was previously reported that on the night of September 8, the Russians attacked the padel club of Svitolina and Stakhovsky in Kyiv. Taken together, these events form a context in which the public endorsement of strikes on players' homes is perceived by the professional community as unacceptable and leading to real professional consequences for the person who expresses it.
Contradictory data
There is a slight discrepancy among the various publications that carried the news in the exact wording of the provocative comment. The primary text of Sport RBC.UA and a number of retellings quote the note "Bravo, Russia!" with a mention of a call to destroy Germany and Croatia. At the same time, in the headlines of certain publications (in particular, Obozrevatel), the fragment "Let them surrender!" is added to the quote, which does not appear in the main version. Thus, the core fact — the publication of an approving comment and the subsequent suspension of membership in GPTCA — is confirmed by all sources, while the verbatim content of the post varies depending on which fragment a given publication cites. A recommendation for further verification is to cross-check with the original screenshot of the comment on social media.
