Serena Williams' former coach criticizes Elon Musk for removing her blue tick while keeping LeBron James'

Serena Williams' former coach Rennae Stubbs has criticized Twitter CEO Elon Musk for removing the blue tick from the 23-time Grand Slam champion's account.

The blue tick on Twitter signifies that the handle is 'verified'. Twitter now charges users $8 a month to have the verification badge; the blue tick has been removed from several accounts that did not pay the subscription fee.

However, Musk claimed that he was paying the eight-dollar fee for certain users out of his own pocket, including basketball legend LeBron James, author Stephen King and actor William Shatner.

"I’m paying for a few personally," Musk tweeted.

Stubbs took to Twitter to slam Musk for removing Williams' tick mark while not doing the same for James.

"I guess even @serenawilliams let the blue tick go! @elonmusk LeBron roasted you so u gave him one but Serena not legacy enough for u?" Stubbs tweeted.

I guess even @serenawilliams let the blue tick go! @elonmusk LeBron roasted you so u gave him one but Serena not legacy enough for u? 👍🏼 https://t.co/LhO3y7C4bH

Rennae Stubbs was Serena Williams' coach during the 2022 US Open, which was her last tournament. Williams registered wins over Danka Kovinic and Anett Kontaveit but ended up losing to eventual quarterfinalist Ajla Tomljanovic in the Round of 32.

Williams also competed in the women's doubles event, alongside her sister Venus. The pair lost to Linda Noskova and Lucie Hradecka in the first round.

Williams finished her 2022 season with three wins out of seven singles matches. She reached the second round of the National Bank Open in Toronto, but lost in the opening rounds at Wimbledon and the Western & Southern Open in Cincinnati.

Serena Williams' new memoir could reportedly fetch her $10 million

Recent reports claim that Serena Williams' new memoir is in the works and could fetch her at least $10 million. The former World No. 1 previously published a memoir in 2009 titled "My Life: Queen of the Court."

Williams, who has been extremely busy post-retirement, recently announced the launch of her new production house, 926 Productions. She also stated that the company's objective was to promote female and diverse voices.

"With the launch of 926 Productions, we aim to elevate female and diverse voices through content that speaks to everyone. I look forward to collaborating with [President Caroline Currier] and developing unique projects that inspire audiences across all platforms," the 41-year-old said.