Rennae Stubbs forced to defend herself after fans accuse her of mocking Novak Djokovic by posting his crying photo from the Rio Olympics to prove her point against Patrick Mouratoglou 

The debate started when Patrick Mouratoglou claimed an Olympic medal is not important than a Grand Slam.


Rennae Stubbs forced to defend herself after fans accuse her of mocking Novak Djokovic by posting his crying photo from the Rio Olympics to prove her point against Patrick Mouratoglou 

Rennae Stubbs attracts criticism for sharing Novak Djokovic's crying picture from Rio Olympics (Images via NY Post, The Guardian)

Is the Olympic medal important to tennis players? This question has been doing the rounds on the internet ever since renowned tennis coach Patrick Mouratoglou discarded its importance, saying it does not matter to tennis players as compared to Grand Slam titles. While many agreed, Rennae Stubbs stood against the opinion and shared Novak Djokovic’s crying picture from the Rio Olympics to prove her point. 

However, the move backfired big time as Djokovic’s fans accused the Australian of mocking the 24-time Grand Slam winner. Stubbs’ history with Djokovic certainly played a part in this as fans claimed that she intentionally picked on Djokovic, to demean him for not winning an Olympic gold medal. 

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It is worth mentioning that Stubbs has been too critical of the Serbian in the past and hence her sharing a picture of crying Djokovic did not sit well with the fans. The post from Stubbs wherein she asked “Is this a guy that doesn’t care about playing and winning in the Olympics!??” got a handful of reactions, with most of the users criticizing her. 

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“This is pretty rich coming from someone who’s never won a single Grand Slam or Olympics. Guess what, nobody will ever remember a doubles player, but the best men’s single player will live on in tennis history forever.  Maybe this is why you’re constantly trying to belittle Novak!” commented one user under Stubb’s post. 

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Rennae Stubbs explains her post about Novak Djokovic

The negative reaction from Novak Djokovic fans prompted a response from Rennae Stubbs, who explained she never meant to demean Djokovic.

Rennae Stubbs
Rennae Stubbs (Image via NY Post)

The Australian explained that she just wanted to convey what an Olympic gold medal means to any player, even if he has won 24 Grand Slam titles. 

Rennae Stubbs’ claims about an Olympic gold medal being important for Novak Djokovic were proved right by the Serbian himself, although indirectly. When Djokovic was asked about Mouratoglou’s claims, the 36-year-old dismissed them entirely, saying it is of utmost importance, at least for him to represent his country at the Games.

“I saw his statement & I would not completely agree with him. The Olympic Games are the oldest sporting event. Every sport that is Olympic, values ​​the Olympic Games, at least in my opinion, as one of the highest priorities. One of the greatest honors for an athlete is to represent your country at the Games,” said the Serbian (to Sportal).

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