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Rennae Stubbs is one of the most well-known Australian tennis personalities, having won six doubles Grand Slam titles and coached Serena Williams. She retired from the sport in 2011 but has continued to use her platform to raise awareness about issues she cares about, and she recently criticized US Representative Nancy Mace for using a transgender slur at a House hearing.
On Wednesday, February 5, Nace was present at a hearing of the House Committee on Oversight and Government Reform. During the hearing, the South Carolina lawmaker used the word ‘t***ny’. In response, Ranking Member Gerald Connolly spoke out against the GOP representative’s use of the slur, to which she responded by repeating the offensive word, saying,
“T*****, t*****, t*****. I don't really care.”
An X user posted a video of the hearing on the platform, to which Rennae Stubbs reacted by writing,
Trending
“THIS IS UTTERLY REPUGNANT! @NancyMace.”
According to the Gay & Lesbian Alliance Against Defamation, the term which Rep. Nancy Mace used is one of the ‘most extreme slurs for a trans person, similar to other extreme slurs for other historically marginalized groups’.
Rennae Stubbs shows her support for transgender kids
In 2006, Rennae Stubbs came out as a lesbian in a newspaper interview. Over the years, the tennis star has been a consistent advocate for the rights of the LGBTQ+ community.
In 2023, journalist Megyn Kelly shared the news of retail corporation Target losing $9 billion in revenue after facing boycott calls due to their LGBTQ+-friendly collection. Taking to X, Kelly wrote,
“FA&FO.”
To this, Stubbs responded by showing her support for kids from the LGBTQ+ community, writing,
“No kid is going into Target and turning gay or trans by clothes, flags, swimsuits etc! NONE! But there are plenty of kids that would see that and feel accepted and loved and maybe feel like their lives were worth LIVING!”
Rennae Stubbs first rose to fame in the early 2000s, as an excellent doubles player. Her tennis career saw her win four women's doubles Grand Slam titles and two mixed doubles Grand Slam titles, as well as the 2011 season-ending WTA Championships.
After retiring from playing, the Australian explored her talents as a tennis commentator and coach. As a commentator, she has worked with multiple major networks, including ESPN, Tennis Channel, Channel Seven Australia, and NBC. As a coach, she trained Karolína Plíšková, Samantha Stosur, and Serena Williams.
