Serena Williams' ex-coach shuts down her podcast co-host as she recalls 'controversial' Iga Swiatek comments amid Pole's doping row

Serena Williams' ex-coach Rennae Stubbs recently revisited Iga Swiatek being criticized by her podcast co-host Caitlin Thompson. The Australian went on to shut Thompson down. Stubbs and Thompson's recent exchange came in the aftermath of the news of the Pole's one-month doping ban, which sent shockwaves through the tennis world.

Swiatek tested positive for trimetazidine (TMZ), a prohibited substance after she provided a sample in August this year. The five-time Major winner got the confirmation of her positive test result a month later. She was handed a provisional suspension, leading to her omission from multiple tournaments in Asia. However, Swiatek's team later proved that the Pole's exposure to TMZ was a result of her consuming a contaminated medication.

These developments were made public all at once recently, triggering outrage, similar to how things were after Jannik Sinner's doping revelation earlier this year. Recently, Rennae Stubbs, Serena Williams' ex-coach, and Caitlin Thompson, founder of Racquet magazine, got together to discuss Swiatek's situation on an episode of The Rennae Stubbs Tennis Podcast.

At one point during their discussion, Thompson opined that it would be beneficial for both tennis players and fans if someone could explain how doping violations are dealt with in a better way. Much of the criticism surrounding Sinner and Swiatek's cases has been about the seeming lack of clarity.

"Having a chairperson takes a lot of the heat off the players, so that it doesn't feel like every person for themselves. The chair of tennis can say, like, 'Hey, listen, here's why each of these cases are a little different, here's what we're trying to do, here's what we're trying to achieve. We're obviously always on the side of players, but in some cases, if players bend the rules, and here's one we feel like unequivocally does that'," Thompson said (at 31:34).

However, what followed was something of a tense exchange between Thompson as Stubbs. This stemmed from Stubbs asking Thompson about her thoughts on Sinner and Swiatek. Go through the exchange that led to Stubbs shutting down Thompson below:

"How do you feel about these players?" Stubbs asked Thompson.

"I feel, Iga Swiatek, who, you think I don't like her, but...," Thompson replied.

"I did not say that," Stubbs hit back.

"Yes you did," Thompson said in response.

"Well you've said some controversial things," Stubbs told Thompson.

"I have. I compared her to another player who I think was similar," Thompson replied.

"We don't need to talk about it," Stubbs said, shutting Thompson down.

The "controversial things" Stubbs referred to concerned Thompson drawing a comparison between Swiatek and former World No. 1 Justin Henin.

"I don't think Iga Swiatek is that fun to watch" - Caitlin Thompson's comparison of Pole with Justin Henin

Iga Swiatek (Source: Getty)

In the first half of 2023, during a discussion between Stubbs and Thompson on The Rennae Stubbs Tennis Podcast, the latter wondered if Iga Swiatek is the Justin Henin of contemporary tennis. However, Thompson went on to opine that according to her, Henin, her favorite player, was much more entertaining to watch compared to Swiatek.

"Is Iga Swiatek this generation's Justine Henin? And Justine Henin was my favorite player of all time. The difference is that Henin was fun to watch and I don't think Iga is that fun to watch. She's okay," Thompson said.

Thompson's take did not go down well with the majority of Iga Swiatek's loyal fans, who lambasted the Racquet magazine founder over her opinion.

Henin herself spoke highly of Swiatek ahead of the Pole's appearance in the 2024 French Open final. The Belgium opined that Swiatek has what it takes to win many titles at Roland Garros. The Pole eventually went on to win the 2024 French Open title, marking her fourth title triumph at Roland Garros and fifth Slam win overall.