Serena Williams is inarguably one of the greatest tennis players ever. The 40-year-old has 23 Grand Slam titles to her name; moreover, she also has 14 Grand Slam Doubles titles with her sister Venus.
Serena began her professional relationship with her current coach Patrick Mouratoglou almost a decade ago in 2012. Together, they’ve won 10 out of Serena’s 23 Slams and Mouratoglou is one of the most elite coaches in tennis.
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Mouratoglou explains how to develop a great player-coach dynamic
In a recent post on LinkedIn, Patrick Mouratoglou explained how he builds a solid foundation of trust with his students. “The answer (to a good coach-player relationship) goes beyond tennis. Just like any relationship, the key relies in trust, care, commitment and energy,” Mouratoglou explains.
Additionally, the French coach also shared a video montage of himself and Serena Williams. The video has various clips of Serena Williams and Mouratoglou talking to each other comfortably.
“You have to work on the relationship every day,” Mouratoglou says in the video. “Keep the same energy level, keep bringing new ideas every day.”
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Perhaps most importantly, he describes what a player must feel like. “I think that the player has to feel every day that he or she is with the right person,” Patrick says. The video also features him training with Stefanos Tsitsipas, who is another student of Patrick.
In fact, he reinforces this with a comparison to a romantic couple, as well. “Like for a couple, it is important to maintain interest, to consider that it is a relationship that needs to be worked on every day,” he says.
Serena Williams is training, but not returning to tennis anytime soon
Ever since her hamstring injury in June 2021, Serena Williams has been off the WTA circuit. The living legend has been biding her time, recovering, in order to return to the game she loves soon.
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However, those anticipating Serena’s return to sport at the beginning of the tour next year will be disappointed. Serena recently announced that she won’t be participating in the Australian Open. Instead, she will focus on recovery and training.
“I still believe that, when Serena is 100 per cent at the top of her physical form, she can win any slam.”
Patrick Mouratoglou on Serena Williams
(via AAP) pic.twitter.com/NcAvz1eSoK
— We Are Tennis (@WeAreTennis) April 3, 2021
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Fans of Serena, despite being disappointed, would only want the best for her. After all, it would be all the more rewarding to see Williams be dominant on the court again in full health.
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