For years, former US Open champion Pam Shriver has been a relentless advocate for player welfare and protection. Even today, Shriver has only continued those efforts, as she reported former world No. 28 Peyton Stearns’ coach, Rafael Font de Mora, to the WTA Tour’s director of safeguarding regarding misconduct allegations.

The WTA is now investigating the complaints of “alleged misconduct and inappropriate relationships with players during his previous time coaching on the tour” against Font de Mora by Shriver and a former WTA player who chose to remain anonymous, per The Athletic.

Although Shriver isn’t part of the Australian Open commentary team this year, she was in Melbourne for the tournament when she said she unexpectedly crossed paths with Rafael Font de Mora at one of the tournament hotels after being away for several years. Following which she filed a formal complaint.

“When will pro tennis treat anti-abuse with the same seriousness, investment, and conviction as anti-corruption and anti-doping? It’s time,” Pam Shriver, who herself was abused as a teenager by her former coach, Don Candy wrote earlier today.

Font de Mora, 57, was in Melbourne as part of Peyton Stearns’ team. Stearns had just exited the third round of the doubles at the Australian Open and had recently started working with him after splitting from Blaz Kavcic, a partnership that brought her strong results in the middle of 2025.

According to Shriver and the anonymous player, they decided to speak up after learning Font de Mora was back around the tour – not only out of concern for Stearns’ well-being, but also for the safety of other players.

Shriver’s complaint centers on Rafael Font de Mora and what she describes as his relationship with a player he coached in Arizona during the 1990s and early 2000s, beginning when the player was just 13.

The player was Meghann Shaughnessy, who was only 14 when she moved from Virginia Beach, where she lived with her family, to Phoenix to train with Font de Mora, who was 25 at the time.

According to a source close to the USTA, concerns about an “inappropriate” relationship, along with her parents’ worries, even played a role in the U.S. Tennis Association’s decision to not offer her funding.

Another former player (who has chosen to remain anonymous) also came forward with a separate complaint, aimed at Font de Mora. That second complaint alleges aggressive, physically and verbally abusive behavior.

Now, alongside reporting these matters to the WTA Tour, Shriver also filed a complaint with the U.S. Center for SafeSport, the organization responsible for overseeing athlete safety.

Rafael Font de Mora shrugs off claims

The 57-year-old coach was contacted by email and asked to comment, but he pushed back strongly: “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 his response, he suggested that reaching out to Peyton Stearns and her trainer, Kathryn Whartenby, would give “an exact idea” of his coaching methods. He added that he wasn’t even aware that any complaints had been filed with the WTA.

For her part, Stearns has spoken positively about her new coach. “One thing he’s been big on is, you know, what can you control?” she said. “You know, I can’t control the wind today, so what are you going to do? What can you control about it? You can control your attitude, you can control your emotions, you can control how intense your feet are, you know, get to the ball because it’s windy.”

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She added that this approach has helped her shift her perspective. “That’s been huge because it’s not about the results,” said the world No. 68, pointing to how much emphasis he puts on effort, focus, and response rather than outcomes.

Later, after reportedly saying she didn’t want to get into the issue, Stearns was asked if she was aware of Font de Mora’s history on the WTA Tour. “Yeah, I mean, it’s been around,” she said, before adding, “but, I think right now, just not really going to dive into that, no comment.”

What the WTA chooses to do next remains to be seen. For now, the situation is still unfolding, and many around the sport are watching closely.