"Would you have said that about Rafa Nadal at 18?" - Rennae Stubbs defends Monica Seles from criticism over lack of Wimbledon titles

Rennae Stubbs recently took it upon herself to defend Monica Seles from online criticism, taking to Twitter to call out fans attacking the nine-time Grand Slam champion.

Despite winning the Australian Open, the French Open and the US Open multiple times, Seles never lifted the trophy at Wimbledon; her best result at SW19 was a runner-up finish. In a conversation that stemmed from Chris Evert talking about Steffi Graf's place in the GOAT debate, one fan touched on the German's rivalry with Seles, claiming that Seles would never have won the Wimbledon title since Graf was supposedly unplayable there.

Monica Seles lost to Steffi Graf in her only Wimbledon final appearance, falling 6-2, 6-1 to the defending champion in 1992. The unfortunate stabbing incident took place the following year, which rendered Seles inactive for the next two years.

Although Seles returned to action in 1995 and won the Australian Open the following year, she was never the same in the years afterward.

Responding to the fan's claims about Seles vs Graf, however, Stubbs stated that saying Seles would never have won Wimbledon was an "asinine" comment. Stubbs likened it to saying two-time Wimbledon champion Rafael Nadal would never have won the tournament after just looking at his early performances at the event.

Stubbs further added that the scoreline was not a good indicator of how close Seles fought against Graf in the 1992 final, adding that fans often forgot how Seles was a nightmare to play against even on grass.

"This proves you don’t know much about Monica Seles. She made a final on her least favorite surface. Would you have said that about Rafa [Nadal] at 18? It's an asinine comment. Her lefty was a nightmare on grass," Stubbs said. "I watched that final in Stef's box in 92 live & it wasn’t easy or a walkover for Stef."

The former doubles World No. 1 was of the opinion that Seles would have had a shot at winning Wimbledon if things did not turn out the way they did. Winning Wimbledon would have also helped Seles achieve the honor of completing the Career Grand Slam.

"Big statement! [Monica Seles] made the final there, so the chances of her eventually winning would have been pretty good, so to say she would never have won Wimbledon as a fact is just a little rich… I would have said, she had a chance," Stubbs said.

---

"It drives me crazy" - Rennae Stubbs on fans bringing up Monica Seles' stabbing to downplay Steffi Graf's achievements

FEI European Championships In Rotterdam - Day Seven

In the replies to the same tweet where Chris Evert praised Steffi Graf, there was another conversation brewing. One fan opined that Graf was helped a lot by Monica Seles getting stabbed, claiming that Seles was in the process of taking over from the German when the incident happened.

Stubbs disagreed vehemently, stating that that was mere speculation. Regardless, she declared that the point of the original tweet was simply to congratulate Graf on her Golden Slam - a feat that occurred five years before Seles was stabbed - and that she was sick of fans bringing it up to rain on the 22-time Major winner's parade.

"All of this may be true but it is also speculation at this point. Injuries, life, there are many things that could happen," Stubbs said. "The point of this tweet was to congratulate Steffi on what she achieved in 1988 & it drives me crazy that people need to put this into THAT conversation! Ffs."