"You're making $20 million a year, f*** off! I'd say"- Serena Williams' ex-coach on Alexander Zverev's tirade against chair umpire at Shanghai Masters

Rennae Stubbs and influencer Eliza Wastcoat recently dissected Alexander Zverev's heated argument against the chair umpire during his Round-of-32 win against Tallon Griekspoor at the 2024 Shanghai Masters. At 5-5 deuce in the first set, the umpire's call went against the German as he appeared to track down a ball after it had bounced twice.

Zverev, however, was sure that he had put down his racket on the ball while it was still up. The chair umpire, Mohamed Lahyani, ruled the point in his opponent's favor regardless, prompting the third seed to start a tirade on the state of umpiring on the ATP Tour.

While voicing his frustrations, the 27-year-old alluded to the chair umpire during the 2024 French Open final allegedly failing to call a double fault on Carlos Alcaraz's second serve at 1-2, 40-15 that had seemingly dropped outside the service box. He eventually lost the match 3-6, 6-2, 7-5, 1-6, 2-6.

Here are a few excerpts from Alexander Zverev's diatribe in Shanghai:

"How on earth are you calling that? I got the ball completely clean? Let me say something, you guys, umpires are f***ing up the whole tournament this year."

"I have a Grand Slam final, I lose it because of you guys' mistake. I’m here running my a*** off with the illness, you guys still do mistakes."

Serena Williams' former coach Rennae Stubbs recently invited tennis fashion influencer Eliza Wastcoat to discuss the incident on her podcast. Wastcoat said it was a "classic temper tantrum" from Zverev. Stubbs agreed with her, before saying she would've told the German to "f*** off" if she had been in chair umpire Lahyani's shoes.

Here is the full exchange between Stubbs and Wastcoat:

"He was complaining in the first set, he thought that he had a bad call on a double bounce, which he was actually wrong about. And that caused him a classic temper tantrum that we see from Alexander Zverev," Wastcoat said. [22:18]

STUBBS: "I don't know, dude. You're making like 20 million dollars a year, f*** off! I would say that if I was the umpire."

Wastcoat: "The whining and the moaning, it's so consistent. Throughout his career, it's funny at this point. And to sit there and say you're the reason why I lost the Grand Slam final, I think it's such a nugget (into his mindset)."

"My god, what a great point! If I'd walk onto the court with him in Grand Slam final, I'd be like, 'Don't forget those umpires, they're gonna screw you!'" Stubbs said.

Wastcoat said Zverev's verbal attacks were a by-product of his "victim mentality".

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"It's such a victim mentality, it reminds me of that episode in Break Point" - Eliza Wastcoat on Alexander Zverev's tirade against umpires

Alexander Zverev looks on during the 2024 Roland Garros final | Getty Images

During the interaction on Rennae Stubbs' podcast, Eliza Wastcoat alluded to Alexander Zverev accusing Daniil Medvedev of gamesmanship last year. She said the German might end his career without winning a Major if he didn't stop blaming umpires for his losses:

"It's such a victim mentality. It reminds me of that episode in Break Point where he talked about Medvedev and how karma is going to get him. Take the responsibility on yourself. You had opportunities, certainly this year at the French Open. And you can't tell me the umpire robbed you so badly that you lost the final. I think it's why he will go his career without winning one." [23:22]

Zverev has enjoyed a great season on the men's tour, accumulating a 59-19 win/loss record thus far. Highlights include winning the Italian Open, finishing runner-up at the French Open, and reaching the semifinals of the Australian Open.