World number seven Elena Rybakina said she is "disappointed" at the WTA's decision to uphold the ban against her former coach Stefano Vukov following an independent investigation into his behaviour towards the player.

It was announced in January that the Croat had been provisionally suspended after allegedly breaching the WTA's Code of Conduct.

On Tuesday, the WTA - the governing body of women's tennis - confirmed Vukov's ban had been upheld.

"I'm just disappointed with the situation, and how the process went. I'm not going to comment much more," the 25-year-old said after her win over Rebecca Sramkova at the Qatar Open on Wednesday.

"I'm focusing on my matches, and when I go on the court I'm thinking only about the way I need to play.

"It's not the best time, but I want to perform as best as I can."

The WTA has not specified how long Vukov will be banned for and it is not known which part of the code he has broken.

But the manner in which he spoke to her - on and off court at tournaments - has come under scrutiny.

The 37-year-old helped Rybakina to win Wimbledon in 2022 but their five-year partnership ended days before the 2024 US Open in August.

The WTA's decision means Rybakina will not be able to bring Vukov back on to her team - something she hoped to do at the start of the year.

Vukov denies any wrongdoing and told The Athletic last month that he had "never abused anyone", while Rybakina also said at this year's Australian Open she has never made "any complaints" about Vukov.

The WTA did not provide details on the length of the suspension but Vukov can appeal against the decision.

Rybakina worked briefly with Novak Djokovic's former coach Goran Ivanisevic on a trial basis, but he left her team after a fourth-round exit at the Australian Open.

Ireland prop Finlay Bealham has predicted Wales will "be coming out firing" when the sides meet in round three of the Six Nations at the Principality Stadium on 22 February.

The hosts are bottom of the table with only one losing bonus point to show for defeats by France and Italy, and on Tuesday replaced head coach Warren Gatland with Cardiff's Matt Sherratt for the remainder of the championship.

Ireland are chasing a third consecutive Six Nations crown and, having already beaten England and Scotland, would secure the Triple Crown with victory in Cardiff.

"It's another away game in a really prestigious stadium," said Bealham before news of Gatland's departure.

"It's Wales' first game at home as well, so they'll be well up for it, backs against the wall. I've no doubt they'll be coming out firing.

"We'll go in with the utmost respect and do our thing."

Some feel after Townsend's eighth Six Nations in charge it will be time for a change, but Beattie says given the lack of player depth in Scotland, the national team has punched above its weight on Townsend's watch.

Despite the bruising defeat by Ireland at Murrayfield, Beattie insists a change would not necessarily lead to an upturn in fortunes.

"Gregor, over his tenure, has got quite a lot out of this squad, probably more than most other coaches," he added. "And I think his win percentage is better than most other Scottish coaches historically.

"So people have incredibly short memories. I know the weekend was horrible to watch. Gregor actually doesn't have a big player pool, doesn't have a bunch of physical animals.

"We'll always be on an uphill battle with the numbers, we have a really shallow pool of talent.

"And I think, actually, he's got a lot out of the players that we have over the past five, six, seven seasons. So it's disappointing, but be careful what you wish for."

Since Dennis John led the disastrous tour of South Africa in 1998 following the resignation of Kevin Bowring, Wales has only been led by a Welshman for four of the next 27 years.

So could a Welsh coach become the first national coach since Gareth Jenkins in 2007?

Former Wales wing Mark Jones has made a rapid rise through the ranks from assistant coach, to the Wales Under-20s and now the top job at Ospreys.

Steve Tandy has earned a solid reputation as defence coach at Scotland and current forwards coach Jonathan Humphreys may pitch to step up.

Harlequins head coach Danny Wilson spent most of his early career in Wales, including third place with the under-20s at the Junior World Cup.

Shaun Edwards is hugely popular among Wales fans following his time under Gatland between 2008 and 2019 while former Wales prop Chris Horsman backed ex-England fly-half and Ireland attack coach Mike Catt.

"He's won a World Cup as a player, Grand Slams as a coach and look what he's done for the Ireland attack over the past five years," said Horsman.

"That's what we're crying out for to give Wales an identity."

London Irish Rugby Club have been bought out of administration by a consortium led by former Formula 1 team owner and businessman Eddie Jordan.

In June 2023 London Irish were forced out of the Premiership because of unpaid wages and shortly after put into administration by former owner Mick Crossan with debts of about 30m.

They were punished after missing a deadline to make those payments or complete a takeover, and as a result are currently not allowed to play in any league.

Jordan's group, called 'The Jordan Associates', says it is targeting a "swift return" to competing professionally as well as promising to "introduce an innovative fan ownership model", offering supporters the opportunity to invest in the club.

"The primary goal of the new ownership is to return London Irish Rugby Club to the pinnacle of international professional club rugby, aiming for a swift return to top-flight competition," it said.

"The Jordan Associates team will now turn its attention to negotiating a full and sustainable return for London Irish to competitive rugby, hand-in-hand with London Irish's supporter base."

The Jordan Grand Prix F1 team competed between 1991 and 2005, winning four races between 1998 and 2003.

"We are incredibly excited about this opportunity to steer London Irish towards new heights," Jordan Associates senior partner Kyle Jordan - Eddie Jordan's youngest son - said.

"Our investors bring not just financial backing but a profound passion for rugby and a commitment to the community, and in particular want to reach out to the global Irish diaspora to build the exile brand."

In December, Jordan said he had been diagnosed with a "quite aggressive" form of cancer.

The 76-year-old said he has bladder and prostate cancer which had spread to his spine and pelvis.

Jordan was a regular pundit on television when the BBC held the broadcasting rights to F1 between 2009 and 2015.

London Irish, whose historic home and training base is in Sunbury, south west London, played at Reading Football Club's ground for two decades before moving to Brentford's Gtech Community Stadium in west London in 2020.

The new owners have not specified where Irish's new home will be, but did say the club's playing base would remain in west London.

Forwards: Fin Baxter, Ollie Chessum, Luke Cowan-Dickie, Chandler Cunningham-South, Ben Curry, Theo Dan, Ben Earl, Ellis Genge, Jamie George, Joe Heyes, Ted Hill, Maro Itoje, Henry Pollock, Will Stuart, Tom Willis

Backs: Oscar Beard, Elliot Daly, George Ford, Tommy Freeman, Ollie Lawrence, Alex Mitchell, Harry Randall, Tom Roebuck, Henry Slade, Ollie Sleightholme, Fin Smith, Marcus Smith, Freddie Steward

Rehabilitation: Tom Curry, George Martin, Immanuel Feyi-Waboso