Serena Williams’ former coach Rennae Stubbs has leapt to Coco Gauff’s defence following her WTA Finals victory.

The American clinched her first title at the season-ending tournament in Riyadh with victory over Zheng Qinwen in the final, pocketing £3.7million in prize money in the process.

But Gauff’s path to glory was not without its controversy, as she faced accusations of deliberately losing, or ‘tanking’, in order to secure a perceived easier draw.

In the competition’s group stage, defending champion Iga Swiatek’s hopes of reaching the semi-finals depended on the 20-year-old beating Barbora Krejcikova in the final round-robin match.

Despite Swiatek keeping her side of the bargain with a win against Daria Kasatkina, Gauff fell to a 7-5 6-4 loss to the Czech.

This caused the Pole to be eliminated, while the US star advanced to the final four having won her opening two group games.

However, some fans were not convinced by Gauff’s display against Krejcikova, and accused her of intentionally performing below par in order to avoid facing Swiatek in the semi-finals.

One wrote on X: “You could see that Coco wasn’t even trying to win this match. Thanks to that Iga was eliminated.”

Despite beating Swiatek in straight-sets in their second match at the tournament, another fan suggested Gauff feared a potential rematch, with the Polish star leading their head-to-head record 11-2.

They argued: “Absolutely disgraceful, she lost on purpose, I know 11-2 is painful for her, but have some shame girl.

“One of the most shameful moments in WTA history, we will never forget this.”

But Stubbs, who previously coached 23-time Grand Slam champion Serena Williams, has rubbished these claims.

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Speaking on the Rennae Stubbs Tennis Podcast, the Australian argued that accusations of tanking made little sense, given that Gauff’s defeat saw her draw world number one Aryna Sabalenka in the next round.

She said: “Somebody wrote about, ‘Coco tanked the match against Krejcikova so Iga couldn’t get through to the semifinals.’ 

“No, that’s not how it works.

“First of all, Coco says: ‘I’m going to lose to Krejcikova and then have the possibility of playing Krejcikova again, or I’ve already beaten Iga and now if I lose to Krejcikova then I get to play [Aryna] Sabalenka in the semis. Yeah!’

“No way, that’s not what she’s thinking.

Stubbs also pointed out that an undefeated campaign would have earned Gauff a bonus on top, of her lucrative prize money.

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She continued: “She’s thinking, ‘I want to win again, I want to get more money into my pocket.’ 

“Because if she’d gone undefeated, she’d have made even more money. If you go undefeated, you get an extra bonus.” 

Gauff ultimately beat US Open champion Sabalenka in straight sets, before edging a gruelling three-set final against China’s Zheng, Stubbs continued to slam some fans’ claims.

She went on: “Arguably, you would say playing against Qinwen at the time was easier than playing against Sabalenka. Why would you want to play Sabalenka?

“For anyone to suggest that Coco went in there with the dubious sense of, ‘I’m going to kick out Iga Swiatek,’ is nonsense.

“There’s no way you want to lose a match going into the semifinals, arguably playing against the best player on hard courts all year in Sabalenka.

“So, stop with the nonsense. That is not what happened. She got beat and she was pissed about losing,”