Serena Williams' ex-coach, Rennae Stubbs, generated attention for criticizing Coco Gauff's technique in front of her coach, Brad Gilbert, but Stubbs insists Gilbert does not hold a grudge.
Stubbs is one of the most opinionated analysts in tennis. Her views often split fans, but the 53-year-old's insights and understanding of the game certainly make her one of the most interesting voices to listen to.
Recently, Stubbs lashed out at those claiming Jessica Pegula and Emma Navarro's family wealth made their success inevitable. The Australian thinks that is disrespectful to the duo's hard work.
But Stubbs' comments about Gauff during the US Open caused much more debate. Gilbert was standing beside her when she made her remarks, which led to fans on social media sharing the moment thousands of times.
Gauff hit 19 double faults during her three-set loss to Emma Navarro in New York. Last year's US Open champion has had repeated issues with her second serve throughout her career.
Some fans have questioned why Gilbert has not taken steps to change Gauff's technique on that shot. Andy Roddick's former coach was praised for his role in her US Open success last year, meaning he must also take some responsibility for her struggles.
Speaking after Gauff's loss to Navarro, Gilbert said his player needed to be confident on the shot, not mentioning any technical aspects of the serve that could partially explain the 20-year-old's difficulties.
However, despite Gilbert being beside her, Stubbs did not hold back in her analysis. She criticized Gauff's technique, saying her elbow was too low and that the former World No. 2 frequently hitting the second serve at different speeds was also unwise.
Many viewed Stubbs' brutal analysis in front of Gilbert as an indictment of the experienced coach. Some went further and argued Gilbert had been humiliated and that Gauff would be better off with Stubbs as her coach.
Speaking on her podcast, Stubbs believes Gilbert has no ill feelings towards her after the incident and that he is a professional who understands that she was doing her job.
"It’s great, we can hear from the coach of the player, yeah, it’s sort of great, but also a little bit awkward for people that are working there. But look, the bottom line is, it’s like, in that situation, my job is to also tell people at home why she’s losing and why she lost that match."
"That’s my job and you know, Brad’s a professional. He understands, he’s not going to be — he doesn’t hold it against me."
Stubbs used an example to support her position. She said if Jannik Sinner had hit 19 double faults during a match, Gilbert would be obliged to mention what was going wrong even if Sinner's coach, Darren Cahill, was beside him.
"This is… it’s part of the job and if you know, if [Jannik Sinner] loses, I’m sure if Brad was on the desk with [Sinner’s coach] Darren [Cahill] and he did 19 double faults, he’d probably say ‘Bro you gotta get your player to not hit double 19 double faults’, and this is what I see that could improve."