'No semifinal should be at midnight': Rennae Stubbs criticises Rome Open schedule after marathon semifinal

Rennae Stubbs, the ex-coach of former world number one Serena Williams, has criticised the schedule of the Rome Open. The WTA and ATP 1000 events are approaching their conclusion, and the remaining players are giving their all to secure the ultimate prize.

The final lineup in the women’s singles category has been completed. Italy’s Jasmine Paolini will face America’s Coco Gauff on Saturday. The second semifinal in the women’s singles category featured the one-time Grand Slam winner, who came out on top against China’s Zheng Qinwen in a hard-fought contest with a score of 7-6, 4-6, 7-6.

The match lasted more than three hours and finished after midnight. That prompted Stubbs, the ex-coach of former world number one Serena, to criticise the schedule of the Rome Open. The 54-year-old stated that no semifinal should finish past midnight. "No semifinal should be at midnight! Imagine if Sinner had been a long match!" Stubbs wrote in a post on the social media platform X, previously known as Twitter.

Gauff, talking after the match, admitted that it was a very difficult contest against a top player in challenging conditions but stated that she was ecstatic with the result. "I was just trying to go for every point," she said. "I knew before it was going to be a physical match. Last time we played was over three hours. Overall I'm just happy. Wasn't my best level at all, to be honest. Just happy to get through it and through to another final. The whole match for me the court was so slow," Gauff said. "Especially when the ball after like two games, they're so heavy. This was my second night match. My first one was first round. I was playing someone completely different game style. Yeah, it was tough. I think we're both struggling trying to hit through each other. I think in Riyadh we had a little bit more winners, aggressiveness. Today we were trying, but the ball wasn't going anywhere."