Serena Williams’ former tennis coach, Rennae Stubbs, sparked a social media frenzy this week with a controversial comment about French pole vaulter Anthony Ammirati. The incident, which went viral during the 2024 Paris Olympics, has drawn widespread attention and a mix of reactions.
Stubbs, who is 53 and a former professional tennis player, took to Twitter to weigh in on Ammirati’s failed pole vault attempt, suggesting a rather unconventional solution. “Seriously!!! When your sport is all about getting your body over a bar and it’s a matter of millimeters! My man! Call a drag queen! She’ll teach u how to tuck it! This is unbelievable!” Stubbs tweeted. The tweet was accompanied by a video of Ammirati’s attempt, which was humorously captioned, “When your pole is too big for the pole vault.”
The video showed Ammirati making a significant attempt at clearing a 5.70-meter bar during the pole vault event. Despite his skillful approach, his bulge, accentuated by his tight athletic uniform, hit the crossbar on the way down. The mishap led to a flurry of social media comments and jokes, with users posting lines such as, “Oh, he brought that baguette to the games,” and, “When big d**k energy has an actual big d**k.” Another comment humorously predicted, “He’s going to stroll out of this Olympics with more ladies’ phone numbers than medals!”
Stubbs’ remark added fuel to the online chatter. Reactions to her tweet were mixed, with some people finding it odd and inappropriate, while others appreciated her candid humor. “What an odd thing to post,” one critic remarked, while another fan commented, “Petition to have Stubbsy commentate all sporting events moving forward.”
Stubbs, who is best known for her role as a coach for Williams during the 2022 US Open, has been involved in the tennis world for decades. Her transition to commenting on other sports, particularly in such a provocative manner, has drawn attention to the broader conversation about the intersection of sports and social media.
Despite the viral nature of the incident, Ammirati himself expressed disappointment with his performance at the Olympics. Although he had previously achieved significant success, including winning gold at the 2022 World Athletics U20 Championships, he finished 12th in Paris. “It’s a big disappointment,” Ammirati told the French Athletics Federation. He noted that he had missed some crucial training due to injuries leading up to the event. “I’m a bit gutted because I didn’t miss anything on the third attempt at 5.70m,” he added. “What I did miss was a bit of jumping in training to fine-tune the settings. Just a technical session.”
Ammirati, who had felt “100 percent physically” before the competition, attributed his performance issues to a lack of recent pole vault training. He also mentioned that the conditions were good and that it was “the first time” he’d started a competition without stress.
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In the aftermath of the viral moment, Ammirati received a $250,000 offer from adult website CamSoda for a 60-minute webcam show featuring his now-famous bulge. Despite the attention and the offer, Ammirati remains focused on his athletic career and improving his performance in future competitions.
As the dust settles from the online frenzy, both Stubbs’ comments and Ammirati’s performance highlight the unpredictable nature of live sports and the extensive impact of social media in amplifying moments from the Olympic Games.
