Serena Williams’ ex-coach Rennae Stubbs makes bold prediction about Novak Djokovic’s French Open future after Jannik Sinner loss

Serena Williams’ former coach, Rennae Stubbs, gave her honest opinion about Novak Djokovic’s French Open future following his loss at the semifinal. The latter’s quest to win the 25th Grand Slam title at Roland Garros came to an end on June 6, 2025.

Djokovic delivered exceptional performances in Paris by defeating staunch players and reached the semifinals. However, he couldn’t advance further as his opponent, Jannik Sinner, dominated the match to claim a 6-4, 7-5, 7-6(3) victory.

Shortly after this clash, Williams’ former coach, Stubbs, made a bold prediction about the Serb while acknowledging the Italian’s stellar play. Taking to X, she claimed that this iteration of the French Open would be the last for Djokovic. She wrote:

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"Awesome match. Awesome. I think that's the last we might see of Nole in Paris. That wasn't a see you next year walk off court," Stubbs commented.

Along with her opinion about Djokovic, Serena Williams' ex-coach also addressed the "undisciplined" manner of Carlos Alcaraz during his semifinal clash against Lorenzo Musetti. Highlighting her observations about Alcaraz and praising the Italian at the same time, she said:

"That was the undisciplined Alcaraz in that last game. Panicking and going for way too much on his FH. 2 very bad UF errors at 0-15 and 15-40. Lorenzo playing solid as a rock!"

Serena Williams' ex-coach Rennae Stubbs made her feelings known on Novak Djokovic's drive for his 25th Grand Slam title

In one of the recent episodes of her podcast, Rennae Stubbs opened up about her take on Novak Djokovic's pursuit of winning his 25th Grand Slam title. Comparing the Serb to Williams, who also wished to win 25 Grand Slam titles before retiring, she linked him to the American player, Pete Sampras, who, after winning the 2002 US Open title, suddenly retired.

"Serena really wanted 25 (Major titles), but she didn't get it and does it define her? No. Of course not. She's still the greatest female player of all time and arguably the greatest player of all time. Novak now is sitting in that same spot, and I think the only thing that drives him is maybe winning one more and I could see him literally doing a Pete Sampras and dropping the mic and being like, 'I'm done,'" Stubbs said.

Following this, Stubbs also emphasized the difficulties Djokovic has been facing in the 2025 season so far and said:

"But, having said that, it's not that easy to win a Grand Slam anymore when you're not even winning f**king matches at regular tournaments in best of three sets against these guys. Come on."

Serena Williams' former coach, Rennae Stubbs, won 60 WTA titles in her career, including four Grand Slam women's doubles titles and two Grand Slam mixed doubles titles.

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Nancy Singh

An English Honors graduate, Nancy is a journalist at Sportskeeda covering US Olympic sports. She has a total experience of 4 years, having previously worked as a Marketing Executive for BYJU’S before finding her footing at SK.

To deliver the best content, Nancy keeps herself updated by reading as much as possible about the athletes and the sport, and believes that researching and trusting credible sources is the key to reporting ethical and accurate information.

Track and Field events particularly interest Nancy, and she is a fan of Allyson Felix. While she cherished each of her victories, her favorite Olympic moment happens to be the retired athlete’s 10th medal at the Games.

Nancy believes that covering the personal lives and training sessions of the Olympic athletes, and showcasing old podcasts or interviews would help bridge the coverage gap of the sport in its off season.

When away from her keyboard, Nancy spends most of her free time reading books. She also writes poems and plans on publishing a book.

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