Between the summers of 2011 and 2012, Serena Williams hit one of the darkest stretches of her career. After cutting her feet in a freak accident in July 2010, she missed the rest of that season, only to suffer her first-ever opening-round Grand Slam loss at the 2012 French Open. Desperate for a turnaround, she reached out to Patrick Mouratoglou, then a relatively unknown coach, asking to train at his Paris academy. “We have that relationship where I can tell him ‘Look, this isn’t great’ and it kind of goes back and forth,” Serena even said in 2015. But Mouratoglou now reveals that the relationship wasn’t all smooth sailing at the start, sharing how Serena and Richard Williams treated him early on.
In a recent episode of the Business of Sport podcast, Patrick Mouratoglou pulled the curtain back on what it was truly like working with Serena Williams, and it wasn’t always smooth sailing. The Frenchman gave a rare, honest look at the early days of their partnership and the challenges that nearly shook his confidence.
When asked if he ever feared losing his job while coaching Serena, Mouratoglou didn’t hesitate to share the pressure he felt. “Your natural thing to do would be to protect yourself again. So why would I put myself at risk when I have a great job? You know, imagine I’m coaching Serena Williams. She had 13 grand slams when we started. She had been number one. I mean, 100% of the coaches would love to be in my seat. Why would I take a risk?”
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But those early days were far from easy. Mouratoglou revealed that both Serena and her father, Richard Williams, tested him right from the start. “And especially at the start when I didn’t build a relation yet, but you know, she provoked me, the father provoked me, and I thought, okay, if I let them step on me, I’m not going to be respected. I’m not going to be successful. I’m not going to be listened to. This is not going to happen.”
He admitted he had to make a bold decision very early on. “And if it has to stop, it has to stop. But I will not let people treat me the way I don’t accept it. Whatever the consequences are, they didn’t want to do to harm me or do bad. They just wanted to test me. They wanted to test my character, which I didn’t know at that time. But they did.”
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Mouratoglou then recounted one of the hardest confrontations of his career. “I mean, at the start to tell her I mean to confront her because I did confront her first practice in a tournament was at Wimbledon. I did confront her,” he said, adding that this moment set the tone for their working relationship.
It wasn’t just Serena he had to stand up to, Richard Williams put him to the test in front of everyone. “Her father confronted me in front of everyone all the tennis people in the fitness in Wimbledon also after the first match shouting at me and I I really hit him back back hard which was the right thing to do and I did it in a, I think very correct way but I said to him listen he was shouting and I said listen first of all if you don’t respect me I’m not going to respect you. So, you’d better be ready for that. If you want me to respect you, you’d better respect me first.”
Patrick then added the most cutting line of all. “And second, you’re telling me, you’re shouting at me, why Serena’s playing so badly. But I’m coaching her for one week. You’re coaching her for 30 years. Maybe I should ask you. And then he didn’t know what to answer.” He recalled that Serena’s longtime hitting partner was watching the exchange in shock, almost asking silently if he had lost his mind. But Mouratoglou stood his ground, a move that later paved the way for mutual respect and a strong working relationship with Richard.
Looking back now, Mouratoglou sees those clashes as necessary trials that shaped their partnership. While he admitted Serena’s overpowering personality sometimes caused friction, he also credited those moments with forging the bond that would ultimately lead them to one of the most dominant chapters in tennis history.
Serena Williams’ fitness battles led to Mouratoglou clashes
Serena Williams’ journey has never been ordinary, and neither has the conversation surrounding her body. Recently, the 23-time Grand Slam champion has been making waves across US media, promoting a weight-loss drug that has sparked fierce debate. Fans and critics alike are questioning whether this choice undercuts her legacy of hard work, diet, and relentless training that defined her career.
In a recent interview, Serena opened up about how criticism over her weight played a role in her decision to take a medical route. The admission struck a chord with her former coach, Patrick Mouratoglou, who offered his own perspective. “Oh I remember it very well,” the Frenchman said with striking clarity.
“It was after the pregnancy – not right after; I know these things take time. I told her: ‘Listen, this is not a comment on how you look. It’s not my problem.’ But tennis is a sport in which you can’t afford to be overweight. First of all, the pressure on your joints and everything is so big that your chances become much higher.”
Mouratoglou didn’t stop there, diving into the science behind his concerns. “The second thing is it’s a sport in which you change directions all the time and with a lot of speed. Even one kilo overweight is a lot. When you go full speed in one direction with one kilo extra and then need to stop and come back, the time that you lose is really important.”
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He emphasized how movement separates the good from the great. “Just look at the best players in the world – Alcaraz, Sinner, Djokovic. Think about their movement. The weight was affecting her movement,” he said, underlining just how critical this factor was in maintaining Serena’s dominance.
Now, with the American icon retired, Mouratoglou’s reflections offer fans a rare glimpse into the difficult conversations that shaped her late career. And though Serena may have hung up her racquet, tennis lovers can’t help but dream of one last reunion between the two on the court.