Serena Williams' ex-coach Rennae Stubbs & Andrea Petkovic sing high praise for Aryna Sabalenka's Indian Wells & Miami Open runs as ATP stars falter

Aryna Sabalenka's impressive runs at the 2025 BNP Paribas Open in Indian Wells and the Miami Open recently garnered praise from Serena Williams' former coach, Rennae Stubbs and Andrea Petkovic. Stubbs and Petkovic were especially in awe of the World No.1 at a time when the men's semifinalists in Indian Wells failed to make it past the second round in Miami.

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During the BNP Paribas Open in Indian Wells, Sabalenka beat McCartney Kessler, Lucia Bronzetti, Sonay Kartal, Liudmila Samsonova, and Madison Keys to reach the final, where she lost to Mirra Andreeva despite taking the first. The Belarusian continued her impressive run of form as she reached another title clash after defeating Viktoriya Tomova, Elena-Gabriela Ruse, reigning champion Danielle Collins, Zheng Qinwen and Jasmine Paolini.

Here, she beat Jessica Pegula 7-5, 6-2 to win her 19th WTA singles title and her eighth at the WTA 1000 level. The Belarusian has now won 11 out of her last 12 matches and her recent performances has drawn praise from Rennae Stubbs and Andrea Petkovic.

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SabalWhile speaking in a recent episode of the 'Rennae Stubbs Tennis Podcast,'Petkovic expressed her admiration for Aryna Sabalenka's performance, stating that she was "saving tennis" with her exceptional play at the two WTA 1000 tournaments.

“We actually started talking about how [Aryna] Sabalenka is saving the tennis and then we went from one thing to another, we just want to thank her for saving tennis,” Petkovic said [27:07].

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Stubbs echoed Petkovic's sentiments, praising the World No.1 as the best player for her consistent performances in Indian Wells and the Miami while other players struggled to match her level. Rennae Stubbs also stated that she was especially impressed by how Aryna Sabalenka adapted herself in both the tournaments, which are played in vastly different conditions.

“She is the only player that did well in both weeks. Everyone else poo-pooed out. All the guys lost in the first round that made the semis,” Rennae Stubbs said [27:18]. “But going from Indian Wells conditions where it is a desert, Wilson balls, totally different atmosphere to go to Miami where it’s heavy and it’s humid and you’re using Dunlop balls which are like bricks and the courts are faster, much faster.” [28:30]

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Stubbs mentioned that Sabalenka's attitude of playing to her own strengths irrespective of the court conditions, helped her perform well in both the 2025 BNP Paribas Open at Indian Wells and at the Miami Open.

“So our point in saying this is Aryna Sabalenka doesn’t give a f*ck when she goes on hardcourt. I think because she just has that attitude of, ‘I don’t care how different it is, I am gonna play my way,’ and that’s it,” Stubbs added [29:01].

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In addition to her performances at the two WTA 1000 tournaments in America, this year, Aryna Sabalenka won the Brisbane International and finished as the runner-up at the Australian Open this year.

Aryna Sabalenka will next compete at the Porsche Tennis Grand Prix in Stuttgart

Aryna Sabalenka at the 2024 Porsche Tennis Grand Prix Stuttgart [Image Source: Getty Images]

Aryna Sabalenka will next compete at the 2025 Porsche Tennis Grand Prix which is scheduled to take place from April 12, 2025 to April 21, 2025. The matches of the tournament will take place on indoor clay courts at the Porsche Arena in Stuttgart, Germany.

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Along with Sabalenka, players like Iga Swiatek, Coco Gauff, Jessica Pegula, Mirra Andreeva, Jasmine Paolini, Zheng Qinwen and Emma Navarro among others will compete at the WTA 500 clay court tournament.

At the 2024 Porsche Tennis Grand Prix, Aryna Sabalenka was seeded second and she kicked off her campaign in the second round after earning a first-round bye. She defeated Paula Badosa with a score of 7-6(4), 4-6, 3-3 retd. in the second round before being eliminated by sixth seed Marketa Vondrousova in the quarterfinals with a score of 6-3, 3-6, 5-7.

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