Four-time Aussie Olympian ruined by wild attack in America
Four-time Australian Olympian Rennae Stubbs has been forced to defend herself against a barrage of criticism from America.
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One of Australia’s most decorated tennis players has found herself the subject of a savage attack as a commentary storm erupts in the US.
Rennae Stubbs, who went to four Olympic Games and represented Australia for 17 years in the Fed Cup, is calling the tennis for streaming platform Peacock in Paris.
She was behind the microphone for the blockbuster second round men’s singles match between Rafael Nadal and Novak Djokovic, which Nadal lost despite strong support from the French crowd.
After the match Stubbs copped one of the all-time drive-bys when American sports radio personality Chris Russo took his criticism of her commentary to extreme heights.
“I watched the match this morning on Peacock ... Rennae Stubbs did everything in her power to absolutely ruin it and never shut up and ... did an awful, awful job,” Russo said on his show on “Mad Dog Unleashed”.
“Oh my god. Please. If I’m sitting there at seven o’clock in the morning watching Nadal-Djokovic, I’m a tennis fan. I know the rivalry. I know what’s going on with the crowd liking Nadal. I understand. I’m a tennis fan … I don’t need her every single point. Oh, she was awful. … What an atrocious broadcast.”
He added: “How not to be a broadcaster, Rennae Stubbs.”
Stubbs responded to the clip on X, saying that Russo was sexist.
“This is called sexism at its best,” she said. “Does he comment on all the men that talk non stop on broadcasts. Probably not.”
Russo caught the response out of the corner of his eye while still on air, which heightened his frustrations.
He denied any sexist undertones to his comments.
“Now I’m annoyed. So Rennae Stubbs, who absolutely ruined the broadcast today, I will say that ’til the cows come home. I watched it. Shut up. Ruined the broadcast,” Russo said.
“How in the world can you call me a sexist if I say great things about Carillo and bad things about her? If she doesn’t think that I have a right to make a comment about her broadcasting … now I’ve got to listen to Rennae Stubbs get on me about her ‘prolific’ broadcast today where she didn’t shut up for two hours?”
Russo additionally flexed his broadcasting muscle to back his claim.
“To sit there and say I can’t comment about a broadcaster when I’ve done that for 47 years? Come on,” he said.
Stubbs kept up her defence on Twitter, responding to several other critics.
“This is the last comment I will make on this,” she wrote.
“There are many male tennis commentators that talk every single point and or a lot! But has he ever commented on them on his show?
“Is it sexism, apparently in his words not? Or then is mateism?”
- with the New York Post
Originally published as Four-time Aussie Olympian ruined by wild attack in America
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