Roger Federer‘s game is like a flawless vintage painting. Rafael Nadal plays like he owns the court. Novak Djokovic can turn any circumstance in his favor. It is no wonder then that the G.O.A.T. debate in tennis has been raging on for decades now, irrespective of the number of major titles won by a player. Even the 24th Slam of Djoker could not settle the debate! Instead, it only fueled the arguments that tennis pundits now lead. Serena Williams‘ former coach, Rennae Stubbs, gave way to new controversy when she declared that Federer and Rafa are more popular than Djoker.

The argument erupted fire among the tennis community, regardless of the favorites. Stubbs was active in the US Open post-match proceedings and watched the final between Novak Djokovic and Daniil Medvedev from the front rows. She cheered when Djoker won his 24th Slam. But nonetheless, the Australian faced the wrath of fans for her opinion of Djokovic.

Fans troll Serena Williams’ ex-coach for disputed Novak Djokovic angle

Rennae Stubbs delivered her verdict that the Serb can only achieve great numbers but can never be as popular as his Swiss and Spanish rivals. In ‘The Rennae Stubbs Tennis Podcast’, the former World No.1 talked about the Djoker’s talent, his victories, and how different he is from his colleagues.

But one statement of hers left her in neck-deep trouble. A tennis journalist and author quoted lines from ‘Tennis World USA’, posting, “Rennae Stubbs, former coach of US tennis legend Serena Williams, said Djokovic wants to win more trophies than Roger Federer and Rafael Nadal because he knows he cannot match the popularity of the Swiss and the Spaniard.”

The journalist commented, “This woman is sooooo upset,” as the ESPN commentator judged Djoker as unpopular.

The users of X agreed with the author and slammed the American for her blunt revelation. Fans did not spare a word in calling her out for her ‘pathetic’ statement.

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One user lashed out at Stubbs for speaking excessively on the Serb. He posted, “Does Renae have anything else to talk about beside Novak?”

Another fan called her pathetic for snubbing the Djoker. The post read, “How truly pathetic some people are.” 

A tennis enthusiast accused the former player of being snarky. He wrote, “Yes, she is very snarky.”

Another Djokovic fan reminded the Australian that she had front-row tickets to the final at Arthur Ashe, where she could have witnessed the Djoker’s popularity. She tweeted, “She had a front row seat to his popularity at USO and she still comes out with this.”

A fan of the Williams sisters and the Serbian legend stated that Stubbs’ opinion does not matter. She wrote, “And no one will ever care about her opinion more than she does.”

A tennis fan took a dig at Stubbs and her popularity stance. She posted, “Rennae Stubbs speaking about popularity. I’m yet to meet a person that can stand her.”

These brutal comments caught the attention of the tennis coach, and she had to clarify her statement again for the fans. Stubbs posted what she actually said and how twisted her sentences became in the process of paraphrasing.

Rennae Stubbs explains what she meant by the Djoker’s popularity comments

When the tennis journalist declared Stubbs was upset, the 52-year-old decided to put a full stop to the trollers. The former champion repeated her statements and asked the netizens not to twist her words. Stubbs did not express the popularity opinion as her own but projected what Djokovic might think after his unimaginable feat.

The Australian actually admired World No.1 for his incredible achievement and even talked about the mixed opinions people have of him. Stubbs made it clear that Djokovic’s numbers are the best, and she can’t help but marvel at his relentless efforts and never-say-die attitude.

No matter the comments, positive or negative, Djokovic has established himself as one of the best players in the world. It will probably take decades for another player to match the Serb’s records.

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