"She is hurt, so stop rubbing it in" - Rennae Stubbs defends Ajla Tomljanovic amid massive ranking drop after Serena Williams win at US Open

Former tennis player Rennae Stubbs has expressed her support for Ajla Tomljanovic, who has faced a significant drop in the WTA rankings a year after her exceptional performance at the 2022 US Open.

Tomjlanovic outclassed the likes of Serena Williams and Liudmila Samsonova en route to the quarterfinals in New York last year. She was ranked inside the top 40 at the time but currently finds herself at No. 296 in the world as a result of a long injury layoff.

Stubbs, who was a part of Serena Williams' coaching team during her last Grand Slam appearance, has called on fans to go easy on Tomljanovic.

"It's not nice to talk about how she has dropped in the rankings since beating Serena. She is hurt! So stop rubbing it in to her. It’s hard enough," she tweeted in reply to a tennis enthusiast who had pointed out Tomljanovic's massive fall in he rankings.

Following her brief spell as Williams' coach, Stubbs balances her time as a TV presenter, commentator, and tennis analyst. The Australian also served as a coach for Karolina Pliskova from August 2018 to the spring of 2019.

Apart from Stubbs, Olympic gold medalist Monica Puig also defended Tomljanovic's ranking plunge. She replied to the same critic on Twitter, calling his post "inappropriate."

"She's injured and this is inappropriate," Puig wrote.

Ajla Tomljanovic made a successful return to the tour at the 2023 US Open. She squared off against Panna Udvardy in the first round and secured a brilliant comeback win over the Hungarian. However, she was forced to withdraw from the event before her second-round match, citing discomfort due to a recurring knee injury.

"I’m always going to do what’s best for my long-term recovery" - Ajla Tomljanovic

2023 US Open - Day 1: Ajla Tomljanovic plays a backhand.

Ajla Tomljanovic recently acknowledged her ongoing struggles with a knee injury and said she is focusing on her long-term recovery.

The Australian had a solid season last year, amassing 38 wins from 65 matches, including quarterfinal runs at Wimbledon and the US Open, as well as at Cincinnati and Nottingham.

Tomljanovic addressed the injury following her hard-fought win over Panna Udvardy at the US Open, emphasizing the need to get stronger and fitter.

“I don’t even want to think about the rest of the season,” she said. “But it doesn’t matter. I’m always going to do what’s best for my long-term recovery. I definitely still need to go back to the drawing board and get stronger and fitter if I want to compete, not in just one match, but looking at second weeks and stuff like that."