Legendary American tennis player Serena Williams recently retired from professional tennis at the US Open. Many tennis players and other sports persons paid homage to the great champion. Interestingly, her former coach, Patrick Mouratoglou, also sent her a farewell message on social media.
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Notably, Mouratoglou became Serena’s coach back in 2012. Since then, they have become one of the most successful player-coach pairing in the history of the sport. In the past, Serena talked about her coaching stint with the French coach, as she saw her father, Richard Williams, in Mouratoglou.
Serena Williams talked about the similarities between Patrick Mouratoglou and King Richard
In an interview in 2013, Serena Williams talked about finding an immediate connection with Mouratoglou, as the French coach and her father had a similar mindset. Speaking about it, Serena said, “That’s the only reason I was able to work with him — because of that mind frame.“
Moreover, she wanted a full commitment from the coach, as she said, “We have the same forward way of thinking… He seemed to be 100% with whoever he was with. If I want to work with someone, I want that kind of loyalty.“
Notably, Serena had one of the best stints of her career under Mouratoglou. Under his coaching, she won 10 Grand Slam titles. Before that, she had not won a Grand Slam title for 2 years and Serena wanted to win at least one Grand Slam title. Certainly, she won more than that, and her last and 23rd Grand Slam came at the Australian Open in 2017.
Fans are not happy with Mouratoglou’s farewell message for Serena
As Serena announced her retirement from tennis, her long-time coach, Mouratoglou, tweeted a farewell message for Serena. The message said, “What a ride it has been. Thank you for everything. I wish you the very best for the next chapter!”
What a ride it has been. Thank you for everything. I wish you the very best for the next chapter! pic.twitter.com/Ap2zcyQqiP
— Patrick Mouratoglou (@pmouratoglou) September 3, 2022
However, fans bashed the French coach for not mentioning or tagging Serena Williams in his tweet. Moreover, fans expected a better farewell message from him, as he was her coach for nearly 10 years.
Watch This Story: Fans slam Serena Williams’ ex-coach Patrick Mouratoglou over his poorly structured tribute
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Earlier this year in April, Mouratoglou announced his split with Serena, as the American tennis player was recovering from an injury. After parting ways with her, he decided to become Simona Halep‘s coach. Later, Mouratoglou opened up about missing coaching due to Serena’s injury. However, Serena did not give an exact answer about her split with the French coach.
I am now the full-time coach of @Simona_Halep. pic.twitter.com/MRlkmeJyhw
— Patrick Mouratoglou (@pmouratoglou) April 7, 2022
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Meanwhile, Serena made a joke about loving Australia, which means there’s a slight chance we could see the great champion in the future.
Can we see Serena back on the tour next year? Let us know in the comments.