"Threatening with violence, seems like WTA should sanction you for harassment " - Tennis fans blast Rennae Stubbs for calling Holger Rune "punchable"

Tennis fans have not taken kindly to Rennae Stubbs' recent comments on Holger Rune.

Aged just 19, Rune has impressed many in the tennis world with his exceptional skills over the past year. The Dane has lifted four titles already in his young career, with his biggest coming at the 2022 Paris Masters - where he beat Novak Djokovic in the final.

Rune, however, has also earned a reputation for getting under the skin of his opponents. He has had minor feuds with a few of his colleagues, including Casper Ruud, Stan Wawrinka and Jannik Sinner.

Rennae Stubbs recently chimed in with her take on Rune's personality. The former Aussie player criticized Rune for his apparent unpopularity among his peers, and called him “punchable” for his antics.

"Man! He's disliked on tour. Is there a person that likes this kid? It's amazing; he just p***es people off on the court and the garbage that he carries on with," she said on the Rennae Stubbs Tennis Podcast. "Being so punchable, can I say that? Punchable with his antics, and the way carries on."

That said, despite Holger Rune’s passionate outbursts during matches, the 19-year-old is generally known to be cordial and well-mannered off the court. That has helped him earn a sizeable fan base, especially on Twitter.

Stubbs’ comments about the rising star, therefore, did not sit well with many users of the social media app. They blasted the Aussie for her take on the reigning Paris Masters champion and claimed that her words promoted violence.

"Stubbs saying Holger Rune is "punchable" is disgusting bias from the rotten tennis media and it's also inciting violence. The negativity of the tennis media is despicable," one fan said.

Another fan suggested that the tennis elite tend to bad-mouth those who are emotional on the court and promote those who have a history of violence.

"Yeah the problem is that a kid who’s just not trying to always look like a nice guy is considered punchable while players who put people in danger are considered good for the sport. then we wonder why nobody cares about tennis anymore right?" the fan said.

Here are a few more fan reactions to Stubbs' comments:

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"Cannot have 100 players, all of them best friends with each other" – Holger Rune on disagreements with colleagues

Holger Rune and Stan Wawrinka at the 2023 Indian Wells

Holger Rune recently opined that having a few disagreements with colleagues is nothing out of the ordinary. He believes that everyone being friends with each other is unnatural.

“You cannot have 100 players and all of them are best friends with each other,” Rune said in a recent interview with Frankfurter Allgemeine Zeitung.

The World No. 7 suggested that heat-of-the-moment scenarios are unavoidable in a sport like tennis, and are not necessarily bad if kept to a certain limit.

“There always will be some moments and things will happen. If you can show it to a certain point, then it is a positive thing for the sport," he said.

After his successful title defense at the BMW Open in Munich, Holger Rune is currently contesting the Masters 1000 Madrid Open, where he is the sixth seed. The Dane is set to play his opening match in the Round of 64 against Alexander Bublik.