Tennis fans are on the edge of their seats as the Billie Jean King Cup inches closer to its grand finale, while the Davis Cup Finals are ramping up the excitement. It’s truly one of the most electrifying times of the season! But amidst the thrill and high-stakes showdowns, a fiery debate is taking center stage—this time, off the courts. A discussion about gender bias is gaining traction, sparked by a surprising move from the ATP and WTA. And leading the charge is none other than Rennae Stubbs, Serena Williams’ former coach and a staunch advocate for equality in the sport.

In a sensational move, ATP and WTA have come together and launched an all-in-one mobile app, called the ATP WTA Live. The aim is to unify the “fan experience and storytelling across the Tours” and give updates including the real-time scores of tournaments taking place for both male and female players. However, things do not seem to be unfolding as planned and Stubbs does not seem to be happy over the visible bias of the application. 

In a post shared on X, Stubbs shared a screenshot of the app highlighting that while the live scores of the Davis Cup Finals are reflected impeccably on the app, the details of the BJK Cup remain absent where Slovakia defeated Great Britain to advance to the finals. Lashing out at the organizers, Stubbs wrote, “I love how the @WTA and @atptour set up a joint account for scores YET Davis Cup scores and results are up there but i guess no one cares about @BJKCup !?? Come on WTA !!!!!!” This, however, is not the first time when Stubbs has called out issues related to gender bias highlighting how it is still prevalent in the sports.

In early 2023, Serena Williams’ ex-coach lashed out at Tennis Channel over issues related to commentators. During the Qatar Open and ABN AMRO Open in 2023 which were played simultaneously, Stubbs pointed out double standards in reporting. Taking to her social media, she noted that while the finals of the Women’s Qatar Open had only one commentator, the men’s semifinal at ABN AMRO had two. She also criticized the umpires for mispronouncing the names of female players.

Stubbs expressed disappointment over the mispronunciation of Barbora Krejcikova’s name during the Qatar Open in Doha by the umpire as she played against Veronika Kudermetova. Interestingly, Stubbs has also lashed out at broadcasters for giving factually incorrect information and ignoring the achievements of women players. 

Vocal Rennae Stubbs called out misinformation that resulted in gender disparity

Rennae Stubbs has long expressed her concerns about tennis highlighting how gender bias still prevails on the courts. Interestingly, one such moment came at the French Open this year, when a misrepresentation by Tennis Channel angered Rennae Stubbs.

Playing against Daniil Medvedev, Australian player Alex de Minaur registered a victory and became the first Australian male player to reach the French Open quarterfinals since 2004. However, the Tennis Channel mistakenly omitted the word ‘male’ in their coverage, thereby claiming that he was the first player to achieve the feat. This did not sit well with Stubbs who was quick to lash out at the broadcaster.

Stubbs took to X and called out the error, highlighting that Samantha Stosur, an Australian female player, had reached the Roland Garros quarterfinals multiple times since 2004. “HUGE congrats to @alexdeminaur so happy for you mate!!! LFG! BUT @TennisChannel Demon is the first Aussie MALE since Hewitt. If you recall @bambamsam30 did this a whole lot of times after 2004. Like finals, semis, etc. So can we please get those graphics right. Thanks!🙏,” she wrote. 

For now, it would be interesting to see if WTA would respond to Stubbs’ criticism and take action soon to highlight BJK Cup Final scores as well.