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Serena Williams' former coach and leading tennis commentator Rennae Stubbs recently voiced her displeasure over the Tennis Channel's programming decisions. She criticized them for prioritizing airtime for discussions about pickleball, rather than focusing on tennis.
The growing popularity of pickleball, particularly in the United States, has been a bone of contention among tennis fans and journalists alike, with significant concerns raised over the newly emerging racket sport potentially displacing tennis.
On April 2, tennis legends Andre Agassi, John McEnroe, Andy Roddick, and Michael Chang competed in the inaugural Pickleball slam. With the event coinciding with the Miami Open final between Daniil Medvedev and Jannik Sinner, tennis fans expressed their annoyance with ESPN for prioritizing coverage for the Pickleball Slam over the Masters 1000 final.
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Incidentally, the Pickleball Slam garnered impressive viewership numbers with 237,000 adults under the age of 50 tuning in. The event outperformed three nationally televised MLB games, seven NBA matchups, and five NHL games. It even surpassed several international soccer matches, including those from the Premier League, Liga MX, Bundesliga, and MLS.
On Wednesday, May 24, Stubbs expressed her frustration with the Tennis Channel's coverage of pickleball. She emphasized that unlike the Tennis Channel, the Golf Channel would never dedicate airtime to mini-golf.
"Wtf i turn on @TennisChannel and i have three dudes on there talking pickleball and golf! Do u see @GolfChannel talking about putt putt!!!???? Omg!!! Ok I’m done!," Rennae Stubbs tweeted.
Rennae Stubbs calls for a clothing brand to sponsor Italian Open finalist Anhelina Kalinina
Anhelina Kalinina enjoyed an exceptional run at the Italian Open. Following a bye in the first round, she defeated Anna Blinkova and Sofia Kenin to advance to the fourth round in Rome.
Kalinina defeated 19th seed Madison Keys before battling past Beatriz Haddad Maia in three closely contested sets in the quarterfinals. The match lasted three hours and 41 minutes and set the record for the longest WTA match of the season so far.
She then defeated Veronika Kudermetova to advance to the biggest final of her career, where she was set to take on Elena Rybakina.
Despite being the top-ranked Ukrainian player on the WTA tour, Kalinina is yet to be sponsored for her apparel and shoe needs. She has been spotted wearing t-shirts, caps, and headbands from different brands such as Asics, Nike, and Yonex.
Before the final against Rybakina, Rennae Stubbs took to social media and stated that the 26-year-old needed clothing sponsors.
"Can someone please get @angie_kalinina a clothes sponsor!!!," Rennae Stubbs tweeted.
In an unfortunate turn of events, Anhelina Kalinina was forced to retire mid-match during the final against Elena Rybakina due to an injury to her left thigh.
