Naomi Osaka receives Serena Williams' ex-coach Rennae Stubbs' support after 'ridiculous' Australian Open accusation from insider

Naomi Osaka received support from Rennae Stubbs after a tennis insider made 'ridiculous' fabricated accusations against her following an incident at the Australian Open. Stubbs coached the legendary Serena Williams during her retirement tournament at the 2022 US Open.

Osaka had a strong start in Melbourne, opening her campaign with a hard-fought victory over Caroline Garcia. Despite defeating the Frenchwoman 6-3, 3-6, 6-3, she expressed frustration over a Hawk-Eye line call in the third set that ruled one of her opponent's shots in, which she believed was out.

Following the incident, tennis insider David Law criticized Osaka’s behavior on an episode of The Tennis Podcast, labeling it as "ballistic" and "crazy.”

“She went ballistic. Went crazy towards the umpire. She went charging up to the umpire and she said ‘that ball was out!’ And she showed how far out it was with her hands,” he said.

Rennae Stubbs, unable to contain her anger, took to X (formerly Twitter) to defend Naomi Osaka. The Australian wrote:

“Wow! seriously! that's me being nice when I played....thats a ridiculous statement and frankly she was actually responding to the umpire talking to her.”

---

Naomi Osaka to face Belinda Bencic in Australian Open 2025 3R

Naomi Osaka | Image Source: Getty

After defeating Caroline Garcia, Naomi Osaka faced her old foe Karolina Muchova and successfully passed the tough test. Coming back from a set down, she triumphed over the Czech 1-6, 6-1, 6-3.

Osaka shared her thoughts about getting the better of Muchova during the on-court interview, recalling her loss to the Czech at the US Open last year. She humorously mentioned having had the "best outfit," adding:

"Man, it means a lot. She’s an incredibly difficult opponent for me to play. She crushed me in the US Open when I had my best outfit ever. I was so disappointed. I was so mad."

The four-time Grand Slam champion added:

"I mean, this was my little revenge. It’s not a bad thing. Revenge is competitive, you guys! But yeah it means a lot because she is one of the toughest opponents out there."

Naomi Osaka will next face Belinda Bencic in the third round of the Melbourne Slam. The duo is set to play their match on Friday, January 17.

They are no strangers to each other, having faced off five times on the court so far. Osaka triumphed in two of their encounters, at the 2013 Pelham and 2022 Miami tournaments, while Bencic won three, at Indian Wells, Madrid, and the US Open, all in 2019.