“Serena Williams was trying to intimidate me” – Ex-coach Patrick Mouratoglou recalls “hitting her cap” on first practice session to teach her a lesson
Serena Williams’ ex-coach Patrick Mouratoglou has recalled how the American tried to intimidate him on the day of their first practice session. Under Mouratoglou’s tutelage, Williams won 10 of her 23 singles Grand Slam titles. However, according to the iconic French coach, things got off to a rocky start between the pair, primarily due to Williams’ seemingly indifferent attitude towards him.
Mouratoglou was roped in by Williams as her coach ahead of the 2012 Wimbledon Championships. At the time, the American was coming off a shock first-round loss at the French Open; her maiden first-round defeat at a Grand Slam.In the ESPN+ documentary series, ‘In The Arena: Serena Williams’, Mouratoglou revisited Williams’ first practice session under his supervision. The Frenchman conducted the session during the morning hours at one of the practice courts at the All England Lawn Tennis & Croquet Club. However, according to Mouratoglou, the session didn’t start on a positive note, as Williams ignored his ‘good morning’ greeting (via “@religionofsports” on Instagram):
“Serena loves to intimidate people. She loves it. And she was trying to intimidate me that day. It was the first day of practice in Wimbledon. I’m waiting on the court for practice. She enters the court. I say, ‘good morning’, and she passes like this. Zero emotion on her face. She doesn’t even look at me,” Mouratoglou said.
The Frenchman, realizing that allowing Williams to behave with him in such an indifferent way would not allow their collaboration to bear fruit, took a firm stand. To assert his authority over the American, Mouratoglou hit the protruding front part of her cap, forcing her to pay attention to him. The Frenchman then proceeded to convey a few mandatory rules to Williams.
“If I let her do that first day, I’m done and I know it. She has a cap, and I hit the cap really hard. Not her head, but just this (protruding part of) the cap, and I hit it so hard that the cap goes like this on her face, and she’s shocked. I’m sure that nobody ever did this to Serena. No one. And especially not a guy who knows her for a few days,” Mouratoglou added.
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“I tell her, ‘this is not going to work like that because I have a few rules that you will have to respect. Number one, when you enter the court in the morning, you look at me and you say, good morning. Rule number two, when I speak to you, you stop. You look at me and you listen to me and you answer me’,” Mouratoglou concluded.
Mouratoglou and Williams would go on to become one of the most prolific coach-player duos during their time together on the WTA Tour, with the American reclaiming her World No. 1 spot under the coach’s guidance. The Frenchman would sometimes use unconventional methods to unlock Williams’ potential on the tennis court, one of which he detailed during a podcast earlier this year.
Patrick Mouratoglou revealed earlier this year how he once lied to Serena Williams to boost her confidence during a tournament
Patrick Mouratoglou (L) and Serena Williams (R) (Source: Getty)
Patrick Mouratoglou (L) and Serena Williams (R) (Source: Getty)
Mouratoglou featured as a guest on the Tennis Insider Club podcast in May this year, and at one point during the interview, he recalled how he had to lie to Williams during one of the editions of the Wimbledon Championships. The Frenchman recalled how the American kept missing volleys and also struggled at the net, which compelled him to motivate her in a rather tricky way.
“Serena, I don’t remember which year she played at Wimbledon and she was missing all the volleys at the start of the tournament. And because she was missing at the net, she was scared to move inside the court. And I mean it’s automatic, when you miss at the net and you are not fast enough to take it and hit a winner. And I thought well, if she continues to play like this, we are in trouble,” Mouratoglou said.
“So after the match, I remember she was biking and we always talk after the match. And I said to her, ‘When I see a short ball, I am so comfortable, I can sleep on my two ears.’ ‘Why do you say that?’ (she asked). I said, ‘Because you win 80% of the points at the net,’ which was not true,” Mouratoglou added.
The renowned coach went on to say that his unconventional method ultimately worked out for Williams. Mouratoglou parted ways with Williams following her decision to withdraw from the 2022 French Open. It turned out to be the American’s farewell year on the WTA Tour, as she retired after losing her third-round match against Ajla Tomljanovic at the US Open.Meanwhile, since leaving Williams’ side, Mouratoglou went on to coach the likes of Simona Halep, Coco Gauff, Stefanos Tsitsipas, and most recently, Holger Rune.
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Edition: English
