"Carlos Alcaraz was a lost puppy with Rafael Nadal" - Serena Williams’ ex-coach skeptical of Emma Raducanu & Spaniard's doubles partnership

Serena Williams' ex-coach, Rennae Stubbs, made her feelings known about Carlos Alcaraz and Emma Raducanu competing as a pair in the 2025 US Open mixed doubles championship. 16 teams are set to compete in the revamped US Open mixed doubles tournament.

Alcaraz is currently competing at the HSBC Championships, where he has made it to the final and will face Jiri Lehecka for the title. Raducanu, on the other hand, is currently gearing up to compete at the Lexus Eastbourne Open, which is slated to start on June 23, 2025.

Amid these ongoing tournaments, the two players have announced that they will team up for the US Open Mixed Doubles Championship in August 2025. This pairing has garnered the attention of Serena Williams' ex-coach, Rennae Stubbs, who voiced her opinion about them teaming up on the latest episode of her podcast.

After analyzing Alcaraz's performances while playing doubles with Rafael Nadal, Stubbs felt that he wasn't best suited to the format. Explaining her opinion, she said (26:14 onwards):

“I would argue that they (Emma and Carlos) are... And this is nothing against any of them. I would argue, just talking from a perspective of doubles, everybody, so don't lose your mind, because you all know how I feel about both of them. I've talked about them both very glowingly over the last couple of years. That's the weakest pair, that, and maybe Iga and Casper. The only reason is, it's more... There's a little bit of a weakness in the doubles aspect," said Serena William's ex-coach, Stubbs.

She added:

"Iga is a great returner, good server. Casper, I'm not sure how great he is in the doubles perspective. Emma, Carlos, I saw him play doubles with Rafa. He was kind of like a little lost puppy out there, didn't know where to hit the ball half the time or where to stand on the court. I was like, he's great a player as he is, and of course he's arguably the best player in the world right now. I don't know how his doubles acumen is.”

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Serena Williams' ex-coach Rennae Stubbs opened up about Aryna Sabalenka's controversial comments after losing to Coco Gauff

Aryna Sabalenka and Coco Gauff locked horns with each other in the French Open finals, where the latter overwhelmed the Belarusian athlete in a head-to-head showdown. The American lifted the trophy after besting Sabalenka with a score of 6-7(7), 6-2, 6-4.

Following this clash, Sabalenka passed a remark on Gauff, stating that the latter's skill on court wasn't extraordinary and she was able to nab the victory only because the Belarusian played her worst game in the final. Along with this, she also said that if Swiatek qualified for the finals, she would have defeated the 21-year-old.

These comments did not sit well with Serena Williams' ex-coach, Rennae Stubbs, as she expressed her dismay over Sabalenka's comments on her podcast. Taking a dig at her for issuing an apology after 24 hours of making that statement, the former tennis player said (26:15 onward):

"I love Sabalenka, but I don't know anymore. Like, it took her 24 hours after that to write an apology, essentially, on Instagram. But I'm like, girlfriend. No. That was so bad, and there's no excuses for it. Like, there's just none. No, no, no. And that's coming from me who, as I said, I've said some stuff in press. Like, you never take it away from your opponent," Serena Williams' ex-coach said.

Rennae Stubbs coached Serena Williams in her career's last US Open in 2022.

Edited by Tushhita Barua