"I feel badly for you" - Serena Williams' ex-coach hits out at criticism against Iga Swiatek calling Pole the 'death' of women's tennis

Serena Williams' former coach Rennae Stubbs has called out the criticism against Iga Swiatek. Stubbs hit back saying she feels bad for the one who criticized the Pole.

The 53-year-old Rennae Stubbs is a former World No. 1 in women's doubles and a six-time Grand Slam champion. She won four Majors in women's doubles and two in mixed doubles in her tennis career. Stubbs has also coached Serena Williams and currently works as a commentator for ESPN.

Stubbs recently hit back at a troll on X who criticized Swiatek. The user claimed that the current World No. 1 spells the 'death' of women's tennis.

Here's the tweet:

Rennae Stubbs, who is very active on social media, hit out at the tweet mentioned above and defended Swiatek. She gave a strong reply by stating that she felt bad for the user.

Stubbs replied:

"Well, i feel badly for you."

Iga Swiatek is currently on a record-breaking spree at the 2024 French Open. The defending champion has made numerous records en route to yet another final at the Phillippe-Chatrier.

With yet another appearance in the 2024 Roland Garros final, Swiatek will become the third woman to reach three straight French Open finals since 2000. Justin Henin and Maria Sharapova are the other two players who achieved this feat.

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"For sure, something changed" - Iga Swiatek reflects on her second-round clash with Naomi Osaka after reaching the French Open final

Iga Swiatek reached her third consecutive French Open final following her semifinal victory over Coco Gauff. She defeated the American in straight sets. After her semifinal victory, the four-time Grand Slam winner reflected on her epic clash with Naomi Osaka earlier in the tournament.

During her post-match on-court interview with Mats Wilander, the Pole was asked what changed after her match with Naomi Osaka where she faced a match point at one stage.

The 23-year-old admitted that something indeed changed after her close encounter with the Japanese in the second round. She also went on to say that the change in atmosphere in the second week of Roland Garros compared to the first week also played a part.

She was quoted as saying:

"For sure, something changed. I would say I just adjusted better to the court and you know, it's not easy to play the first matches of a Grand Slam. The atmosphere is much different than other tournaments. I guess Naomi for sure, I didn't have time to kind of get into it. It was just intense from the beginning and she put pressure on me, so I'm happy that I handled it well and after that, the weather changed also. So, it helps my game, I feel. I just gained confidence I would say."

Swiatek will face Jasmine Paolini in the final of the 2024 French Open. This will be their third encounter against each other. They last met in the 2022 US Open, where the Pole emerged victorious in straight sets.