"Horrible, rude" - Aryna Sabalenka under fire from Serena Williams' ex-coach Rennae Stubbs for blaming Coco Gauff loss on 'terrible tennis'

Aryna Sabalenka had a rough day at the 2025 French Open final on Saturday, June 7, losing to Coco Gauff. However, it wasn’t just the defeat that drew criticism, as her post-match remarks also drew heavy criticism, especially from Rennae Stubbs.

Sabalenka started her French Open campaign strong with a dominant win over Kamilla Rakhimova, followed by impressive victories against Zheng Qinwen, Amanda Anisimova, and three-time defending champion Iga Swiatek to reach the final. But against Gauff, she struggled to find her rhythm. She lost her composure on multiple occasions, threw tantrums on court, and accumulated a shocking 70 unforced errors before falling 7-6(5), 2-6, 4-6.

While giving her runner-up speech, the World No. 1 broke down in tears, visibly shaken by the loss. She admitted the defeat left her heartbroken and didn’t shy away from taking responsibility, saying she played “terrible” tennis and had only herself to blame.

“Honestly, guys, this one hurts so much, especially after such a tough two weeks. Playing great tennis and then in these terrible conditions to show such terrible tennis in the final, that really hurts. But it’s ok,” she said.

Rennae Stubbs, who coached Serena Williams during her final US Open appearance three years ago, slammed Sabalenka’s comments, calling them “rude” and “horrible.” She felt that by saying those things, the Belarusian disrespected Coco Gauff’s win and took away from what should have been the American's moment.

“Ugh....the tennis was not that bad,” Stubbs posted on X. “You made a bazillion unforced errors because you're playing against the fastest players in the world who is as gutsy as hell and had better composure then u!! but to say it was horrible.....ugh!!!! Damn that was rude. I said what I said.”

Rennae Stubbs doubles down on Aryna Sabalenka criticism; congratulates Coco Gauff

Aryna Sabalenka pictured at the 2025 French Open | Image Source: Getty

Rennae Stubbs has never shied away from backing Coco Gauff, and this time was no exception. She doubled down on her criticism of Aryna Sabalenka and made sure to flood the newly crowned French Open champion with messages of praise and congratulations.

Hours after her initial comments about Sabalenka, Stubbs took to X once again and posted a follow-up:

“For the people out there saying well it’s cause Sabalenka made 70 UF errors. The reason she made so many, is because she’s is playing the best defender & athlete in the game. On top of Cocos spins on her forehand & her power on her BH & ability to make ONE MORE BALL !”

Amid all this, the Aussie made sure to congratulate Gauff on her incredible achievement, celebrating her as the youngest American to win the Roland Garros trophy since Serena Williams achieved the same feat in 2002.

“Unbelievable, COCO!!!!! UNBELIEVABLE!! Composure, guts, speed, tenacity, ground strokes, no words, !!! NO WORDS....handled the pressure moments so well today. The serve held up, huge props to her team, her parents and more importantly HERSELF!!! damn,” Stubbs wrote.