“She is growing plaque on the brain”: Rennae Stubbs sends warning to Grand Slam champion amid off-court distractions

Troubling times as of late for Aryna Sabalenka has left her being scrutinised by many on the court. Once so consistent in the biggest tournaments, surprising early exits to underdog names in a concerning pattern is a worrying sign and something that is putting her in the clutches of Elena Rybakina in the race for the World No.1 spot. Rennae Stubbs tried to put her finger on the problem, citing the off-court distractions including her posting videos online.

It has been a tumultuous period for the four-time Grand Slam champion. Following the Sunshine swing, she seemed impenetrable after winning both titles in supreme fashion. This almost made up for more Australian Open disappointment where Rybakina defeated her in the final.

However, the transition to clay was not a smooth one. Defeats in the third and fourth round of the Madrid Open and Rome Open respectively made it the first time that she failed to reach a WTA 1000 quarter-final since the Dubai Duty Free Tennis Championships last year. This ended a streak of nine events participated where she made at least the last-eight.

Roland Garros would deliver another sucker blow. As all the favourites tumbled around her, she looked certain to progress after having the chance to serve it out against Diana Shnaider. However, from 5-3 up the Belarusian would lose every single game and fall to a catastrophic defeat in the most surprising of ways.

Another bagel defeat followed on grass in Berlin as her wait for a first Wimbledon title prolonged with Naomi Osaka defeating her for the first time since 2018.

Back on hardcourts and you would expect for the old Sabalenka to return, producing jaw-dropping displays as she powered her way past hapless competitors. Now, a sense of vulnerability shrouds the 28-year-old. This was again shown at the Canadian Open where Ekaterina Alexandrova took her down in three sets in the fourth round. More eyes have flickered her way as her problems on court continue to mount.

Speaking on the Rennae Stubbs podcast, the Aussie highlighted how she was not replicating the form she had produced in prior years on the big stage. "Sabalenka is not winning the matches she was winning last year and she's not winning the matches that she won in Miami and Indian Wells, both of which she won on hard courts," she said.

This gives other competitors that motivation in that she is beatable and can be taken down. "She is growing plaque on the brain. She is not chipping away at that. It's actually starting to get a little worse for her because now she's losing matches that she wasn't losing last year and that has to be a concern. And also, players in the locker room go, 'she's beatable now'."

Later in the episode, she shared her disapproval for her YouTube vlog series 'Aryna's Arena.' "Now she's started this vlog series. That's not great, right? That is somebody who is detailing her life."

Sabalenka regularly posts videos and skits on social media of her life away from the court, bringing a positive energy to surroundings and including her team as well. In the end, Stubbs conceded that she has worked very hard to get to this point in her career and deserves the success.

"I hate to tell other people how to live their lives, especially someone who works as hard as she does and does all the right things in every aspect of trying to be a tennis player, and she's achieved a tremendous amount already, and she's a multiple Grand Slam champion, and she's going for a 'threepeat' at the US Open, which hasn't been done since Serena."