In Pictures: Serena Williams' ex-coach Rennae Stubbs joins 'Ted Lasso'-fame Jason Sudeikis in celebrating New York Liberty's maiden WNBA title
Serena Williams' ex-coach Rennae Stubbs celebrated the New York Liberty's maiden WNBA title on October 20. Stubbs, a loyal fan of the Sandy Brondello-led team, attended both its first game of the season and the championship match.
Founded in 1997, the New York Liberty is one of the original eight WNBA franchises. Despite its long history of success, the league championship had always eluded it—until now. Under the leadership of head coach Brondello, the Liberty finally captured its first WNBA title.
After losing 3-1 to the Las Vegas Aces in the 2023 WNBA Finals, the team got revenge this year by defeating it in the semifinals. The 2024 WNBA Finals against the Minnesota Lynx marked the Liberty’s sixth appearance in the finals.
With the series tied at 2-2, it went into the decisive fifth game on Sunday, October 20. Just like the first game of the series, the final also went into overtime, with the Liberty securing a hard-fought 67-62 victory to claim its maiden championship.
Among the devoted fans cheering on the team was Rennae Stubbs, along with celebrities Morgan Murphy and "Ted Lasso" actor Jason Sudeikis. The trio, who had attended both the season opener and the final game, celebrated the historic win.
Stubbs, who has coached the likes of Serena Williams and Eugenie Bouchard, took to Instagram to share photos and videos from the WNBA season, highlighting her appearances at multiple games. She captioned the post:
"@Morgan_murphy and @jasonsudeikis and I road tripped to Washington, DC for the @nyliberty first game of the season and were all there when they won it all! What a coaching effort from my decades old mate #brondellosandy her husband @laola72 and the entire coaching team @kantstop5 @zwob_ and for all the Liberty players and fans! Here are just a few pics from the season! Congratulations and can’t wait for next year! Lfgggggg 🏆🗽🗽❤️ #nyliberty #wnba"
Notably, Williams' husband Alexis Ohanian is a vocal supporter of women's sports.
Serena Williams' husband Alexis Ohanian watched the New York Liberty win its maiden WNBA title with their daughter Olympia
Serena Williams' husband Alexis Ohanian celebrated the massive viewership achieved by Game 1 of the WNBA Finals between the New York Liberty and the Minnesota Lynx. He also let his seven-year-old daughter Olympia stay up to watch history as the Liberty won its maiden championship. He wrote on X with an image of the game on TV:
"I let Olympia stay up a bit late for this one."
Ohanian even explained to a fan that he was on "dad duty" which stopped him from being courtside.