--- title: "Serbian coach Vladimir Odobasich stripped of GPTCA membership after endorsing strike on Yastremska's home" description: "GPTCA suspended the membership of Serbian Vladimir Odobasich after his \"Bravo, Russia!\" comment under a video showing the aftermath of the Odesa shelling. The coach lost his status as a certified ATP specialist and his A-Level category." date: 2026-09-15T06:52:00.000Z lang: en url: https://xab.info/en/posts/serbian-coach-odobasich-stripped-of-gptca-membership tags: [tennis, gptca, serbia, ukraine, odessa, dayana-yastremska, coaching] publisher: "XAB.info" --- # Serbian coach Vladimir Odobasich stripped of GPTCA membership after endorsing strike on Yastremska's home ![Serbian tennis coach Vladimir Odobasich in a resort setting after being stripped of his GPTCA membership](https://xab.info/media/2026/09/15/serbskogo-trenera-odobashicha-lisili-licenzii-gptca/serbskogo-trenera-odobashicha-lisili-licenzii-gptca-1.webp) ## 🎯 Key Points - GPTCA suspended and annulled the membership of Serbian coach Vladimir Odobasich after his public endorsement of the strike on Yastremska's home in Odesa. - The coach, who previously held the highest A-Level category, lost the right to call himself a certified ATP specialist, closing his path to working with top-level players. - The exact wording of the comment ("Bravo, Russia!", with the addition of "Let them surrender!" in some publications) slightly differs across retellings. 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 β€” the publication of an approving comment and the subsequent suspension of membership in GPTCA β€” 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. ## πŸ” Fact-Check Verification - [Rejoiced at the destruction of Yastremska's home: Serbian coach stripped of license](https://sport.rbc.ua/ukr/tennis/radiv-znishchennyu-budinka-stremskoyi-serbskogo-1789453416.html) - ΠŸΠ΅Ρ€Π²ΠΈΡ‡Π½Ρ‹ΠΉ источник: ссылка Π½Π° сайт GPTCA, ΠΎΡ‚ΠΌΠ΅Ρ‚ΠΊΠ° ΠΎ приостановлСнии члСнства, катСгория A-Level, ΠΊΠΎΠΌΠΌΠ΅Π½Ρ‚Π°Ρ€ΠΈΠΉ Β«Π‘Ρ€Π°Π²ΠΎ, Россия!Β» ΠΈ ΠΏΡ€ΠΈΠ·Ρ‹Π² ΠΊ ΡƒΠ½ΠΈΡ‡Ρ‚ΠΎΠΆΠ΅Π½ΠΈΡŽ Π“Π΅Ρ€ΠΌΠ°Π½ΠΈΠΈ ΠΈ Π₯ΠΎΡ€Π²Π°Ρ‚ΠΈΠΈ, Ρ€Π°Π±ΠΎΡ‚Π° Ρ‚Ρ€Π΅Π½Π΅Ρ€Π° Π½Π° ΠœΠ°Π»ΡŒΡ‚Π΅. - ["Bravo, Russia": Serbian coach cynically reacted to the strike on Yastremska's family home](https://sport.unian.net/othersports/dayana-yastremskaya-trener-iz-serbii-cinichno-otreagiroval-na-udar-po-domu-semi-tennisistki-13498593.html) - ΠŸΠΎΠ΄Ρ‚Π²Π΅Ρ€ΠΆΠ΄Π°Π΅Ρ‚ содСрТаниС коммСнтария ΠΈ контСкст обстрСла ΠžΠ΄Π΅ΡΡΡ‹; Ρ†ΠΈΡ‚Π°Ρ‚Π° Π² Π·Π°Π³ΠΎΠ»ΠΎΠ²ΠΊΠ΅ совпадаСт с основной вСрсиСй. - ["Bravo, Russia! Let them surrender!" Serbian coach rejoiced at the strike on Odesa and received ...](https://www.obozrevatel.com/sport-oboz/bravo-rossiya-pust-sdadutsya-serbskij-trener-obradovalsya-udaru-po-odesse-i-poluchil-mgnovennuyu-karmu.htm) - ΠŸΠΎΠ΄Ρ‚Π²Π΅Ρ€ΠΆΠ΄Π°Π΅Ρ‚ ΡΡƒΡ‚ΡŒ ΠΈΠ½Ρ†ΠΈΠ΄Π΅Π½Ρ‚Π°, Π½ΠΎ Π² Π·Π°Π³ΠΎΠ»ΠΎΠ²ΠΊΠ΅ ΠΊ Ρ†ΠΈΡ‚Π°Ρ‚Π΅ Π΄ΠΎΠ±Π°Π²Π»Π΅Π½ Ρ„Ρ€Π°Π³ΠΌΠ΅Π½Ρ‚ Β«ΠŸΡƒΡΡ‚ΡŒ сдадутся!Β», ΠΎΡ‚ΡΡƒΡ‚ΡΡ‚Π²ΡƒΡŽΡ‰ΠΈΠΉ Π² основной вСрсии β€” зафиксировано ΠΊΠ°ΠΊ расхоТдСниС Π² Ρ„ΠΎΡ€ΠΌΡƒΠ»ΠΈΡ€ΠΎΠ²ΠΊΠ΅. ## ❓ FAQ ### Q: Why was Vladimir Odobasich stripped of his membership? **A:** Because, in the comments under a video showing the aftermath of the Odesa shelling and the destroyed apartment of Daria Yastremska's family, he left the note "Bravo, Russia!", which triggered a wave of outrage and led to the suspension of his GPTCA membership. ### Q: What can Odobasich no longer do as a coach? **A:** He is no longer entitled to call himself a certified ATP specialist, which effectively closes his official work with top-level players at professional tournaments; formally, the possibility of activity at the amateur level remains. ### Q: What category did the coach hold before the incident? **A:** Previously, Odobasich held the highest international A-Level category in GPTCA.