“Stubbs and Mary Joe are jokes” ESPN commentary gets called out for harrowing double standard remarks on Carlos Alcaraz and Marta Kostyuk at the 2024 Australian Open

ESPN commentary team faces the wrath of fans after being found biased against Marta Kostyuk during her Australian Open quarter-final against Coco Gauff.

“Stubbs and Mary Joe are jokes” ESPN commentary gets called out for harrowing double standard remarks on Carlos Alcaraz and Marta Kostyuk at the 2024 Australian Open

Rennae Stubbs, Marta Kostyuk, Juan Carlos Ferrero and Carlos Alcaraz (Images via Twitter)

The 2024 Australian Open is into its business end with the singles quarter-finals underway. The round commenced with a spectacular match between World No. 4 Coco Gauff and World No. 37 Marta Kostyuk.

The in-form American was the one who came out on top after a close fight between the two. Gauff won the match 7-6(6), 6-7(7), 6-2 after 3 hours and 8 minutes on the Rod Laver Arena.

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The two players had their ups and downs in the matches having conceded big leads in the first two sets. Kostyuk had raced to a 5-1 lead in the first set but failed to capitalize on it. Gauff then had to save a match point as well before coming clutch in the tiebreaker.

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While Kostyuk bottled a healthy lead, it was Gauff’s chance to repeat the same in the second set. Despite serving for the set holding a 5-3 lead, the fourth seed had no answer to the Ukrainian’s defense. This time, Kostyuk controlled her nerves to win and force a third deciding set. But it was the American’s luck that saw her make it to the semi-finals.

While all of this was in play, the ESPN commentary team found themselves on the receiving end of some harsh criticism. Fans who were catching the action from ESPN’s channel and stream complained about the bias in commentary directed towards the 21-year-old Ukrainian.

Serena Williams’ former coach criticized for bias against Marta Kostyuk

With coaching now legally allowed, players are often seen looking towards their box for instructions. Former World No. 1 Carlos Alcaraz is one of the players who is often spotted in dialogue with his team in between points.

Marta Kostyuk
Marta Kostyuk (Via AO)

Kostyuk was also seen looking towards her box at crucial times in the match. However, the ESPN commentators were found to be criticizing her for ‘poor sportsmanship’. This infuriated the fans who berated the commentary team that also featured Serena Williams‘ former coach Rennae Stubbs.

https://twitter.com/LavanyaVocalNEW/status/1749677598576189633

The double standards are certain to anger the fans. With the rule now being made legal, no player deserves the criticism for it. More so, criticizing the parenting was completely irrelevant and out of place. Whether ESPN takes any action over this will be interesting to keep an eye on.

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