Former Australian tennis player Rennae Stubbs has spoken out on behalf of compatriot Ajla Tomljanovic, following the 2022 Wimbledon quarterfinalist's significant drop in rankings.

Tomljanovic has seen her ranking drop from just inside the Top 40 last year to her current position of World No.296. The 30 year-old had been dealing with a lingering knee injury, which kept her out of action for close to eight months.

"It's not nice to talk about how she has dropped in the rankings since beating Serena. She is hurt! So stop rubbing it in to her. It’s hard enough," tweeted Stubbs in reply to a tennis enthusiast who had pointed out Tomljanovic's massive fall in he rankings.

Olympic gold medalist Monica Puig also defended Tomljanovic's fall in the rankings, tweeting out a reply to the same critic on Twitter.

"She's injured and this is inappropriate," Puig wrote.