Serena Williams’ former coach, Rennae Stubbs, fiercely defended the American amid massive backlash for skipping a postmatch news conference at Wimbledon.
Williams, who returned to tennis after a break of almost four years, lost to Maya Joint in the first round of Wimbledon singles on July 1. Following the early exit, she did not attend the news conference due to a knee injury she sustained late in the first set. The injury also forced her to withdraw from the doubles event, where she was scheduled to partner with her sister, Venus Williams.
After the 44-year-old faced sharp criticism from fans online for missing the mandatory media session, Stubbs lashed out at critics on X on Tuesday. After one user claimed that Williams should have been fined and dismissed her knee injury as a minor excuse, Stubbs responded with a series of blunt posts.
Clapping back, Stubbs defended Williams, calling the user’s claim “a lie”:
She added another blunt reply that read:
The exchange continued after the user claimed Williams’ knee injury was not as serious as it was being portrayed. Responding to the remark, Serena Williams’ former coach tweeted:
Serena Williams opened up about withdrawing from the Wimbledon doubles tournament due to a knee injury
Shortly after sustaining the injury in her right knee at Wimbledon, Serena Williams shared details about the incident on her Instagram. She posted multiple photos and videos of her treatment and announced that she was withdrawing from the Wimbledon’s doubles.
She wrote:
“I’m heartbroken to have to withdraw from doubles. Coming back to compete again has been a gift, and the opportunity to play alongside @venuswilliams once more meant the world to me. I did everything I could to be ready, but unfortunately my knee just isn’t ready to compete. I’m especially grateful to tournament director, Jamie Baker, and the entire tournament team for giving me every opportunity to play here. Thank you to the fans for your incredible support and for making this comeback so meaningful…All I can say is stay tuned to a city near you,” said Serena Williams.
Sharing insights of her treatment, she added:
“The photo of the syringes shows the fluid they drained from my knee after my singles match…yikes! The good news is my knee shouldn’t swell or collect that much fluid again. The bad news is that, as hard as I tried, I just wasn’t able to get it ready for doubles.”
Serena Williams’ first match following her comeback was at the HSBC Championships’ doubles event, where she paired with Victoria Mboko.
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