Serena Williams' ex-coach Rennae Stubbs endorses Chelsea Handler's blunt take on pickleball not counting as 'real exercise'

Serena Williams' coach Rennae Stubbs shared a clip from Chelsea Handler's latest Netflix show's trailer and echoed the comedienne's sentiments on pickleball not counting as 'real exercise'.

Stubbs took to Instagram to share a glimpse of Handler's stand-up comedy set where the latter could be seen entertaining the audience with her take on pickleball. She captioned it:

"Another reason I love you Chelo! @chelseahandler"

Screengrab from Serena Williams' ex-coach Rennae Stubb's Instagram @rennaestubbs

The clip began with Handler mock-irritated with the rise of the game during the COVID-19 pandemic.

"I blame Covid for pickleball, right? We didn't have to hear about f***ing pickleball before Covid. Pickleball. That is not a subject I can take seriously.

Handler joked about the hype around pickleball and added:

"When people bang on and on about pickleball, that is not real exercise, okay? So shut the f**** up about it. You would burn more calorioes shoving an actual pickle up your a**hole on a pickleball court than playing a game of pickleball."

Despite fans and people from the tennis world being divided over their views on pickleball, it continues to be a popular game. In the recently concluded Pickleball Slam 3, Andre Agassi and Steffi Graf triumphed over Andy Roddick and Eugenie Bouchard to take home the event's $1 million in prize money.

Serena Williams' ex-coach Rennae Stubbs' take on pickleball, ever since first edition of Pickleball Slam in 2022

Serena Williams' ex-coach Rennae Stubbs at the 2013 AEGON International. Image: Getty

Serena Williams' coach Rennae Stubbs had not been a fan of pickleball right from the beginning of the game's popularity in 2022. It pulled in many fans after the COVID-19 pandemic presumably due to its distancing between opponents and ease of play.

It also attracted investment from prominent tennis players, including Nick Kyrgios and Naomi Osaka, at the time, which led to the emergence of MLP (Major League Pickleball) and the first edition of the Pickleball Slam.

Stubbs expressed her dislike for the game and had tweeted in 2022:

"Just to let everyone know, I will NOT be investing in a Pickleball franchise & will never turn a tv on to watch Pickleball. I would rather watch paint dry. Why all these tennis players think Pickleball is worth investing in & not the game that made them all the $$$ is beyond me."

The tweet also resulted in a back-and-forth between Stubbs and James Blake. She had also joined the online discussion last year around former tennis player and pickleballer Christian Alshon who claimed that pickleball was a more skillful game than tennis.