Serena Williams' former coach Rennae Stubbs expresses outrage at Pope Francis calling for a global ban on surrogacy

Serena Williams' former coach Rennae Stubbs recently voiced her disapproval of Pope Francis' call for a worldwide ban on surrogacy.

The Catholic Church, led by Pope Francis, represents over 1.3 billion Catholics worldwide. The Church has consistently voiced its opposition to surrogacy and in-vitro fertilization due to its belief that these practices devalue the personal nature of conception and result in the disposal of embryos.

However, despite this stance, the Vatican's doctrine office has clarified that children born through surrogacy to same-sex parents can still be baptized.

During a speech in Vatican City on Monday, January 9, the Pope advocated for the prohibition of surrogate motherhood. He expressed that surrogacy is not only "deplorable" but also constitutes a serious infringement upon the dignity of both the woman and the child involved.

“I deem deplorable the practice of so-called surrogate motherhood, which represents a grave violation of the dignity of the woman and the child, based on the exploitation of situations of the mother’s material needs,” the Pope said. “A child is always a gift and never the basis of a commercial contract.”

Reacting to the news, Stubbs took to social media to express her anger. She stated that she had "no words" upon learning Pope Francis' stance on surrogacy.

"No words! 😡 ," Stubbs captioned her Instagram story.

Rennae Stubbs' Instagram story

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When Rennae Stubbs talked about the lack of female coaches in the tennis circuit: "Absolutely disappointing and shocking and surprising in a lot of ways"

Rennae Stubbs and Serena Williams at the 2022 US Open

Previously Rennae Stubbs had given her thoughts on the lack of female coaches within the tennis circuit.

Stubbs started working with Serena Williams shortly before the commencement of the 2022 US Open. Before that, she worked with players including Karolina Pliskova, Samantha Stosur, and Eugenie Bouchard.

During an interview with Courier Mail, Rennae Stubbs shed light on her coaching journey following the conclusion of her partnership with Williams in 2022. She revealed a surprising lack of "phone calls" or agents inquiring regarding potential collaborations with their players.

"I have had some great opportunities to work with some really terrific players. But after the US Open [2022] was done and everybody knew that Serena was retiring, there has not been one phone call made to me or an approach from an agent to me if I would work with one of their players," Rennae Stubbs said.

Stubbs expressed that not being contacted for coaching was "disappointing," "shocking" and "surprising." She emphasized that it was a missed opportunity for certain players who could have greatly benefited from a "female perspective" on their game.

“So (it’s) absolutely disappointing and shocking and surprising in a lot of ways. Even (fellow coach) Darren Cahill said to me ‘If you don’t get a great job after this, I will be shocked’. “I said ‘Welcome to being a female in the coaching environment.’ There is a missed opportunity there from some players out there that could absolutely benefit from a female’s perspective," she added.