‘You Must Respect Me’- Venus and Serena Williams’ Father’s Bullish Attitude Overwhelmed Patrick Mouratoglou as He Fought Back With a Stoic Response in 2012

Serena Williams turned a new leaf when she joined hands with her French coach Patrick Mouratoglou. However, initially, it seemed suspicious to Venus and Serena’s life-long coach, her father, Richard Williams. The two coaches had very different points of view and even strikingly different approaches to reaching the desired goals for Serena. Mouratoglou, however, was not afraid of her father and was clear in his intentions which even sparked a scuffle in his early days of joining the team.

In his 2017-released book, The Coach, Mouratoglou dictated how the tussle between both of their perspectives and approaches regarding Serena’s gameplay drew a clear demarcation of their goals.

How did Richard Williams and Patrick Mouratoglou tussle over different goals for Serena Williams?

The renowned French coach Patrick Mouratoglou joined Serena Williams’ team as his coach in 2012. At the same time, Richard Williams was also actively coaching Serena. That is why in the initial days, the two coaches got into a scuffle.

Mouratoglou noted in his book, ‘The Coach’, that Williams had just defeated Yaroslava Shvedova 7-5 in the third set. Her father was not happy with her performance. So, as soon as he came to the locker room, he asked aggressively, “What’s happening to her?”

Turned out, Serena was not feeling well, and she had only told Mouratoglou. So, he said, “I don’t know.” This was not a good enough reply for Richard who then got even more aggressive. He said, “You must know! You’re the coach! I’ll ask again: what’s happening to her?”

That was it for the French coach who warned Richard of minding his tone. He stated, “I respect you. You must respect me too. If you want me to reply to your questions in the future you’ll have to speak differently to me.”

This then led Richard Williams to retort, “For me tennis is business and everyone must be responsible for their own actions and do their own job.” Mouratoglou vouched for his accountability and added, “However, I don’t share your view of tennis.”

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Mouratoglou’s Vision for Serena & How He Delivered on it

Richard Williams focused on his daughters’ growth as well as their off-court endeavors. However, Mouratoglou had a different vision. When asked to share his views, the French coach proudly stated, “I’m not in this profession for the money. I have only sporting objectives. My only aim is for Serena to win Grand Slam titles.”

And he delivered. After Mouratoglou joined Serena’s team, she won 10 of her 23 singles majors with him. However, he also left off Williams in 2022 to join hands with her rival Simona Halep.

Moreover, Richard Williams too was not present at her last swing at the US Open. Therefore, Williams bid farewell to the sport without the presence of two of the biggest contributors to her career last year.

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