In any field, one pivotal question remains, whether hard work is not enough, but one needs the talent to excel in one’s dreams. Serena Williams’ former coach Patrick Mouratoglou has the best answer for it. Dropping his take on talent and hard work, Mouratoglou shows why his former pupil Serena was a legend in tennis. With his recent remark, the French coach also offers a ray of hope for his new pupil, Naomi Osaka‘s followers. Will he push the WTA star to the edge to get back to her old form?

Mouratoglou had an interesting revelation about talent in tennis. A former coach of veteran Serena Williams from 2012 to 2022, Mouratoglou has been a pivotal character in the sport, helping players reach their professional dreams. Williams won the 2012 and 2016 Wimbledon, 2013 and 2015 Roland Garros, 2014 US Open, and 2017 Australian Open under Mouratoglou’s mentorship. Her last Olympic gold medal was also under the French coach’s guidance. Along with Williams, Mouratoglou coached players like Anastasia Pavlyuchenkova, Aravane Rezaï, Jérémy Chardy, Laura Robson, Holger Rune, and Grigor Dimitrov. His career statistics represent his ability to offer a vision of the sport that is worth mentioning.

The Frenchman shared a reel on his official Instagram profile explaining whether talent is “an asset in tennis, or could it be holding” the players back from excelling in their professional careers. “I’ve always noticed throughout the years that talent is not an asset. It’s actually the opposite,” he said. Mouratoglou doesn’t stop there but offers why he thinks so. “ 1. it gives people the feeling that they don’t need to work hard to succeed because they do things easily. 2 Disorder happens when it comes to competing a lot because when you’re told, since you’re a kid that you are talented all the time, being talented becomes your identity. And when you reach that point, you’re really in trouble. Because your talent becomes the thing that you never want to lose. It hurts your ability to fight. And victory becomes less important than keeping your talent,” said the French coach.

Mouratoglou had nothing against talent. He just wanted to prioritize hard work. He presented a story of Rune when he asked the ATP star to name one thing that Serena Williams, Novak Djoković, Carlos Alcaraz, and Jannik Sinner have in common. While all possess immense talent, the answer that popped up first was their hard work in the sport. Mouratoglou confirmed that he didn’t oppose their talent but believed their enormous hard work makes them what they are in the sport.

This French coach is now working with Naomi Osaka. After working with Wim Fisette for four years, Osaka hired Serena Williams’ former coach ahead of the China Open. Given that Mouratoglou’s biggest USP remains his faith in hard work, Osaka supporters are expecting her to return to the old form with the experienced coach. Given she already bagged her first win against Lucia Bronzetti and waiting to play the next round against Yulia Putintseva, let’s hear what she has to say about working with Patrick Mouratoglou.

Naomi Osaka expresses delight in working with French coach Patrick Mouratoglou

While Osaka’s partnership with Mouratoglou has been positive so far, the Japanese player revealed how the French coach’s great career record made her hesitant to approach him. “I think the fact that he was Serena’s coach for me made me want to avoid him just because his persona is so big. Like, this isn’t rude because I found out it’s not true, but I didn’t know if he was a good coach or he coached Serena,” said Osaka in a press conference before the 2024 China Open. Osaka’s thoughts couldn’t be blamed because Serena was such a talented and hard-working player that any coach mentoring her would get recognition for her.

However, working with Mouratoglou, Osaka released that the French coach has been equally talented and hardworking for his pupils. “Then I met him, talked to him, worked with him on the court. He absolutely is a really good coach. I’m really glad that he’s taking this project on, as well,” Osaka confirmed.

Patrick Mouratoglou’s vision might help Naomi Osaka reach her goals after a season of disappointment. If the Japanese WTA star listens to Mouratoglou’s guidance and works hard, she might return to her Grand Slam-winning form soon. Do you think she will make it this time?