Former Serena Williams’ coach, Rennae Stubbs, gave her two cents on the ATP award snub for Novak Djokovic. She blamed the Serbian for using on-court antics to his advantage and also, making it a valid reason for his award snub.
The Serbian enjoyed an excellent albeit controversy-riddled season in 2022. He was banned from playing in Australia and the USA due to a mandated COVID-19 vaccine protocol. Novak was laid off from multiple Majors and Masters for the same reason. He still managed to pull off a title at the Wimbledon, Italian Open and the ATP Tour Finals.
However, the Serbian doesn’t seem to have many fans on the media side and award committee. He was snubbed from the 11-player list that included all the major stores as a nominee for the ATP’s Stefan Edberg Sportsmanship Award. This list included his nemesis Rafael Nadal, Cameron Norrie, Carlos Alcaraz, Casper Ruud, Felix Auger-Aliassime, Frances Tiafoe, Grigor Dimitrov, Hubert Hurkacz, Lorenzo Musetti, Maxime Cressy and Matteo Berrettini.
nothing to do with that. Novak is not a great sport on court, he’s been defaulted, broken racquets, etc. among other things. He’s absolutely a gracious loser, I’ll give him that, but this award is for sportsmanship on and off court. So don’t make this about anything but that.
— Rennae Stubbs 🇦🇺👍🏼 (@rennaestubbs) November 25, 2022
It isn’t the first time the Serbian hasn’t been named or awarded the ATP Sportsmanship award. Many including former Serena Williams’ coach Rennae Stubbs believe that the Serbian’s mannerism and behaviour on and off the court is the reason behind it. In a response to a tweet by a fan, Stubbs gave her opinion on the matter.
“Novak is not a great sport on court, he’s been defaulted, broken racquets, etc. among other things. He’s absolutely a gracious loser, I’ll give him that, but this award is for sportsmanship on and off court.”
She referenced some of these incidents that had happened with him on the court like throwing his racquet at the French Open, almost hitting a ball boy etc.
“This award is for the player that exemplifies good sportsmanship all the time! U fans are dreaming if u think Novak is that person & he’d be the first to admit it. Not everyone is ice cool on court! He has emotions, I’m fine with it most of the time but he’s not winning this one.”
”He has outbursts on court! Smashed the net at the French Open, threw his racquet that almost hit a ball kid in Serbia. I could go on.”
Snubbed Once Again! Novak Djokovic loses the ATP Fan Favourite Award to Jannik Sinner.
Another year, another missed ATP award for Novak Djokovic as Jannik Sinner edges past him to become the ATP Fan Favourite of 2023.
The Big 3 isn’t there any more. Previous fan favourites Roger Federer had retired, while Nadal was sidelined due to an injury for the better part of the season. However, even with these advantages the Serbian World No. 1 was once again not able to pick the Fans’ Favourite award, losing it to his Italian opponent Jannik Sinner.
Sinner also overcame the Serbian just a few weeks ago in the Davis Cup and led his Italian side to a Davis Cup title. The Italian could also accredit his recent award win to his loyal fans known as ‘The Carota Boys’ who have made quite a name for themselves this year.
As for Novak and his fans, it is another disappointment as many considered that this could be the year when the drought finally ends. However, that just wasn’t the case.
