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Australian Open coach under investigation and accused of 'inappropriate relationships'
Reach Daily Express | January 27, 2026 7:39 PM CST

A tennis coach is being investigated by the WTA Tour over allegations of misconduct and inappropriate relationships, according to reports. Rafael Font de Mora, the subject of those complaints, recently returned to the tour after an absence of several years. He is currently working with Peyton Stearns, who was knocked out of the Australian Open by Amanda Anisimova in the third round.

Two former WTA players have lodged official complaints about Font de Mora to the body's director of safeguarding, according to The Athletic. One of the complainants was former Grand Slam doubles champion Pam Shriver, who raised concerns about Font de Mora's relationship with another player he coached in the 1990s and early 2000s, starting when she was 13 years old.

The player in question, Meghann Shaughnessy, separated herself from her family to move into Font de Mora's house alongside other players when she was 14 and he was 25. They became engaged when she was 19.

Shriver, meanwhile, was previously in a relationship with her former coach Don Candy when he was 50 and she was just 17. She has since claimed that the relationship, which lasted five years, was sexually and emotionally abusive.

Now aged 63, she observed the relationship between Font de Mora and Shaughnessy in her role as a TV pundit following her retirement from tennis.

Font de Mora has said that his relationship with Shaughnessy was strictly platonic until she turned 18. Shaughnessy has not alleged any wrongdoing and has confirmed their engagement did not result in marriage.

Shriver's complaint to the WTA Tour did not add any new information to what was already known about Shaughnessy and Font de Mora's relationship.

Another complaint from a player who requested anonymity was in relation to his alleged conduct during his time as her coach.

The player claimed that Font de Mora displayed aggressive, physically and verbally abusive behaviour towards her, including swearing in her face and hitting balls aggressively in her direction.

Font de Mora has strenuously denied any wrongdoing, while Stearns spoke highly about him when quizzed on their coaching partnership earlier this month.

In an email to The Athletic, in which he copied civil attorney Karen Moskowitz, he said: "Your 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."

In an interview last week, Font de Mora said that he could not comment on the complaints to the WTA Tour because he had not heard about them.

He added he has known Stearns since she was around 10 and has provided advice and occasional coaching since then. He now works with her on a full-time basis and will travel on the WTA Tour throughout the 2026 season.


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