Serena Williams' ex-coach Rennae Stubbs bluntly calls out Naomi Osaka's coach Mouratoglou for a controversial claim on Iga Swiatek & women's tennis

Serena Williams's ex-coach, Rennae Stubbs, has added her voice to the criticism of coach Patrick Mouratoglou's comments about women's tennis. Mouratoglou, who currently guides the career of former World No. 1 Naomi Osaka, gave a social media interview during the French Open in which he suggested that men's tennis was more watchable than women's tennis.

Mouratoglou is a well-known and respected coach, commentator, and pundit. He is the founder of the Mouratoglou Tennis Academy in the south of France. Apart from his work with Osaka, Mouratoglou worked with Serena Williams from 2012 to 2022. He has also coached Grigor Dimitrov and Holger Rune.

Mouratoglou was taking questions on his Instagram account during the tournament at Roland Garros. The Frenchman controversially remarked that, in his view, the tennis public prefers watching Novak Djokovic or Carlos Alcaraz, rather than, for example, Iga Swiatek. His comment was reposted on the Tennis365 X account:

"They (fans) want to come back home and say "I saw Djokovic" or "I saw Alcaraz". If they come back and they sat "I saw Swiatek", it's not the same."

An incensed Rennae Stubbs immediately responded to the comment on her own X account and was critical of Mouratoglou's point of view:

"Imagine a guy that is only known because he coached a woman. I could say more but I won't."

Rennae Stubbs and Patrick Mouratoglou have both coached Serena Williams. Stubbs famously guided the 23-time major singles winner during her final Major at the 2022 US Open.

Serena Williams's ex-coach Rennae Stubbs is a staunch defender of women's tennis

2022 US Open - Day 5 - Source: Getty

Alongside her coaching credentials, Stubbs has worked at the Channel Seven Network as a tennis analyst and at ESPN. She also hosts the popular The Rennae Stubbs Tennis Podcast. After the French Open in 2023, and in response to criticism of the women's game from Nick Kyrgios, Stubbs gave an impassioned defence on X of women's tennis, as reported by Daily Mail.com:

Don't tell me women's tennis is boring! The semis were better and now this final is fantastic! yes the 2nd set of Alcaraz Joker was amazing but the match was blah and Rudd Zverev match was BLAHHH. Thank goodness for the ladies!"

Rennae Stubbs X Post | Source: Rennae Stubbs X/@rennaestubbs

Mouratoglou's statement was made before the Coco Gauff and Aryna Sabalenka final in Paris this year. Gauff and Sabalenka put on a highly watchable three-set final in testing conditions.