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Serena Williams' ex-coach Rennae Stubbs heartily reacted to Coco Gauff ushering in Pride Month with an emphatic message. Stubbs named Gauff among her "favorite people" and also lauded the American for her positive use of social media.
On Sunday, June 1, the first day of this year's Pride Month, Gauff took to X (formerly Twitter) and wrote about her resounding support for the month-long observance celebrating the pride of the LGBTQ+ community.
"Happy pride month ❤️ i’m always proud to be an ally ! everyone deserves to be celebrated, seen, and treated fairly🫂," the WTA No. 2 wrote.
Rennae Stubbs, a former top-ranked women's doubles player who was famously roped in by Serena Williams as her coach for the 2022 US Open, took notice of Coco Gauff's post and issued a heartwarming response, writing:
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"This young woman is one of my favorite people, ever! Thank you Coco! For always using your platform for good ❤️🏳️🌈🏳️⚧️"
Stubbs came out publicly as a lesbian in January 2006. The 54-year-old is currently in a romantic relationship with Eden Bruce. It's been over five years since Stubbs and Bruce started seeing each other, and the happy couple take to social media from time to time to share snippets of loving moments they spend together.
Meanwhile, Gauff has been quite open about her stance on LGBTQ rights. For instance, ahead of last year's WTA Finals in Saudi Arabia, the American spoke up about the subject.
Coco Gauff expressed desire for "real plan" to improve state of LGBTQ and women's rights in Saudi Arabia
There was considerable controversy surrounding Saudi Arabia bagging the rights to host the prestigious year-end WTA Finals from 2024 to 2026. Much of it stemmed from the Middle Eastern country's often-questioned records in terms of upholding rights for women and the LGBTQ community.
At a pre-tournament press conference in the buildup to the event last year, Coco Gauff was asked about her thoughts on the subject. She replied:
"I was pretty much on every player call I could make with WTA. One of the things I said, if we come here, we can't just come here and play our tournament and leave. Like, we have to have a real program or real plan in place."
She later added:
"I think for me it was important and it was one of the questions I brought up because about LGBTQ issues, women's rights issues, how we can help with that."
Gauff, currently in Paris for the 2025 French Open, is set to take to the court next for a fourth-round clash against Ekaterina Alexandrova at the clay Major. If the American wins, she'll face one of her compatriots in the quarterfinals, either Madison Keys or Hailey Baptiste.
