Serena Williams has hired a coach for her final event, as Rennae Stubbs will serve as her coach at the last-ever event she will play.
Williams worked with Patrick Mouratoglou for much of the last part of her tennis career. He was there with her until recently, when it became clear that she was not going to pursue tennis for much longer, allowing the Frenchman to find a new engagement.
He went on to work with Simona Halep since parting ways with Williams, and so far, it has worked out well. The Romanian returned to a very solid level, winning the Canadian Open recently.
Coaching somebody on the side wasn’t uncommon for their partnership, as he coached Stefanos Tsitsipas during Williams' inactivity from tennis and offered some guidance to Coco Gauff as well.
As for Williams, she has hired a new coach for the final event of her tennis career, which will be the US Open, and it will be former WTA player Rennae Stubbs.
At the Wimbledon Championships, Williams worked with her sister's coach, Eric Hechtman, but Stubbs will be there for her for the last Grand Slam of the season.
The Australian has largely worked in the media in recent years, having her own podcast and doing commentary on the side occasionally. She will now help Williams ride out into the sunset, as lots of people hope for a swan song ending.
It’s unlikely to happen, judging by what Williams demonstrated in the few events she played ahead of the US Open, but hope dies last. Stubbs, as a former player, is not unfamiliar with tennis, as she was a noted doubles player in her time.
She’s not unfamiliar with coaching either, as she used to coach players like Karolina Pliskova, Samantha Stosur, and Eugenie Bouchard. She’s obviously very familiar with Williams, having known her for a number of years during her time as a regular tennis media member.
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