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Tennis fans regularly indulge in intense conversations and verbal jousting about their favorite players on social media. And as you'd expect, the likes of Roger Federer, Rafael Nadal and Novak Djokovic are often the subjects of these conversations.
On some occasions, tennis players themselves join in and give their views on the issue. That is exactly what Rennae Stubbs did when she recently came to the defense of Roger Federer on Twitter.
Some fans were looking to pin the blame for tennis’ delayed resumption on Federer's supposedly excessive influence, but Stubbs was quick to dismiss those claims.
We should be thankful for Roger Federer and his longevity: Rennae Stubbs
A couple of weeks before tennis came to a standstill due to the COVID-19 pandemic, Roger Federer had announced he would be sitting out a few months due to a knee injury. He later suffered a setback during his rehab and had to undergo a second surgery, which ruled him out for the entirety of 2020.
Amid these personal problems for Federer, tennis as a sport has struggled to regain some measure of normalcy amid the global health crisis. The ATP tour is scheduled to restart later this month (a full three months after the resumption of the Bundesliga), but even that is in doubt due to the huge volume of positive coronavirus cases in the US.
There are many reasons for the delay in the resumption of tennis, foremost of which is the global nature of the sport and the fact that players have to travel from different countries for participating in tournaments. But fans on Twitter have instead come up with a conspiracy theory connecting the lack of tennis events with Roger Federer’s absence.
One of the fans questioned whether the tour could have begun earlier if Roger Federer was fit to play. He stressed on the power and influence that Federer wields, which according to him puts too much pressure on organizing bodies.
The other fan, however, took a more neutral approach. He pointed out that tennis has several governing bodies and also requires extensive international travel, so a delay was understandable.
The first fan then tagged Rennae Stubbs, supposedly inviting her two cents on the issue. The former Wimbledon doubles champion surprisingly joined the conversation and immediately discarded the idea that the delay in resumption could be linked to Roger Federer’s absence.
“Tennis not back earlier because of no Roger! OMG , that’s the most ridiculous comment I’ve ever heard. Don’t at me back on this one!” Stubbs tweeted.
Roger Federer is arguably the greatest attraction at every tennis tournament and as such it is often believed that organizers use the Swiss’ popularity to make profits for themselves. Rennae Stubbs was having none of it though, and she cited previous examples where tournaments took place despite the absence of the Swiss.
“You think Madrid needs Roger to make money? You think the Canadian open needs Roger to make money? You think Monte Carlo, Queens, Wimbledon, Cincinnati needs Roger? Many of those tournaments haven’t had Roger before and gone ahead and been just fine,” Stubbs said.
In a parting statement Stubbs further re-iterated that Roger Federer and his agency Team 8 didn't have as much power as they are rumored to. The Australian also praised the Swiss’ immense contribution towards making tennis as popular as it currently is.
“I know how important and influential he and team 8 are but there is NO way they’re that important," Stubbs went on. "Roger Federer has done more for the popularity of tennis than almost anyone in history. Instead of ripping him, we should be thankful for him & his longevity, I am. I’m also thankful 4 Rafa & Novak.”
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