Legendary tennis coach Patrick Mouratoglou: "Being a coach is not just about conducting training sessions"

Mouratoglou.

More than a name, more than a brand, Mouratoglou leaves no one indifferent in the refined world of professional tennis.

For over 20 years, Patrick Mouratoglou has continually reinvented himself as a coach, but his achievements go far beyond that. His broad resume includes roles as talent scout, TV consultant and entrepreneur. The 53-year-old from France seems at times to be omnipresent in the world of tennis.

But is he taking on too much? It’s difficult to see how when faced with the passion and enthusiasm of the current coach of Holger Rune during his exclusive interview with Olympics.com.

In a conversation that lasted over an hour, Mouratoglou answered questions on every topic with the sharpness of a backhand slice. From his early beginnings in his sport to his success as the coach of Serena Williams and his impressive analysis of the evolution of tennis, Mouratoglou was engaging and open during every minute

Patrick Mouratoglou: "The role of the coach is to be a chameleon"

Mouratoglou is not one to limit himself.

As the founder of Europe’s largest tennis academy with a stellar coaching record and an enviable social media following that includes over a million on Instagram alone, it’s no surprise that he is particularly eloquent when describing what it means to be a tennis coach in 2024.

"Being a coach is not just about conducting training sessions. It's about enabling players to exploit 100 per cent of their potential,” he says.

"The role of the coach is to be a chameleon. They must be able to adapt to the person in front of them because everyone is completely different."

Each player has their own story, character and ambition. There is no one specific Mouratoglou method, no copy-and-paste training sessions, and no pre-packaged speeches.

"I trained Serena (Williams) in a completely different way to Simona Halep, two players who were both around 30 years old, both former world number ones, but with completely different stories and personalities."

Williams is undoubtedly Mouratoglou’s greatest success, though there are sure to be many more. But what is it that separates the great coaches from the rest?

"Many coaches believe that their role ends with training, but their role ends with victory," he asserts.

For Mouratoglou, having a competitive spirit is just as important as any technical or physical advantage a player may possess.

"It's an extraordinarily mental sport. Grand Slam titles are won because of personality. What is the personality of my player? Do they have a personality suited to winning a Grand Slam?" he asks rhetorically.

Some tennis coaches thrive on developing the potential of players, others are skilled at revitalising champions who may have lost their way. But for Mouratoglou, the goal is clear: his focus is on victory, on titles and the desire to make history.

“Even though I had never coached anyone, I was asked to by many players”

If Mouratoglou's name is well-known in the world of sports, it is partly due to the success of his tennis academy. A huge sports centre dedicated to developing the potential of the world’s strongest talents, the Mouratoglou Academy is currently located in Sophia-Antipolis, France, on the French Riviera.

"We have a facility that is probably the best in Europe in terms of infrastructure, space and location," he admits.

Having been inspired by Nick Bollieteri's academy, “not in terms of philosophy but in terms of the model,” Mouratoglou originally wanted to develop a place where young players could grow, offering them a career path that he himself was never afforded.

“I wanted to offer young people the chance I didn’t have when I was 15 or 16, when I was a very good tennis player with ambitions to turn pro. I wasn’t given a chance so it became a goal of mine to give many young people a chance,” he says.

But did he ever imagine himself becoming coach to professional players? Not at that time.

“I didn’t have the ambition to become a coach,” he continues. “I hadn’t even thought about it, to be honest.”

In the 1990s, he met Bob Brett, who had coached, among others, Boris Becker and Goran Ivanišević. The Australian would lend his name to the academy in its early days in 1996 and taught Mouratoglou the basics of coaching:

However, Brett's departure from the project left Mouratoglou at a crossroads. What to do now?

"When Bob Brett left, I was very disappointed. We had to start from scratch. My name was the only one I could rely on 100 per cent. But can the academy bear my name if I'm not a coach? No."

"At the same time, even though I had never coached anyone, I was asked to by many players. I started with young players because I had no experience, and then everything happened very quickly because ten years later, I was coaching Serena Williams."

Letting Serena be Serena again

Now to talk about perhaps the most important phase of Mouratoglou’s career: the Serena Williams chapter. The two formed a close relationship based on a shared view of sport.

"We have a lot in common when it comes to many things: how we view this sport and competition," he explains. "I think I am the person who knows her best. In fact, that's what she tells me, and she is also one of the people who knows me best."

With Williams, Mouratoglou experienced excellence daily and trained a player who already had 13 Grand Slam titles to her name. But when he began coaching her in the summer of 2012, she had not won a major tournament in almost two years. Following his philosophy, Williams immediately regained her confidence, subsequently winning Wimbledon, gold at London 2012, the US Open and the WTA Finals.

While navigating moments of victory is quite straightforward, knowing how to deal with such a successful player during difficult times is an art form in itself. For Mouratoglou, the most important thing was transparency.

"We had quite a few moments where we disagreed. I think one of the keys is to resolve the issues, even if it means telling each other the unvarnished truth face to face, and things heat up. You have to say things even if it hurts... and even if it creates moments of anger."

The coach-player relationship is not just based on what happens on the court, it is also built on foundations that could apply to any good relationship: trust, transparency and kindness.

“I think we love each other a lot,” Mouratoglou says of Williams. “I don't think she wanted to work with anyone else and I didn't want to work with anyone else either. If we have a caring perspective, we bring trust, we bring an exchange."

These exchanges are some of the highlights of Mouratoglou's career.

"There were match briefings when I made her (Williams) cry. But it was necessary. They are intense moments. [...] I will never forget those moments in my life."

On 11 September 2015, Williams was defeated by the 43rd-ranked player in the world, Italy’s Roberta Vinci, in the US Open semifinals. After winning the Australian Open, Roland Garros and Wimbledon, the American was just two matches away from completing the Grand Slam. The disappointment was enormous.

"That defeat hurt her terribly and led to others in quick succession. The next year, she arrives at Roland Garros and she no longer thinks like Serena, so I know it will go badly in the final against Muguruza. I went all out during the pre-match briefing because I wanted to reconnect her with herself."

"It's frustrating not being able to have a greater impact on the match."

Professional tennis has changed compared to the tennis of a few decades ago, and it will continue to evolve. Equipment will improve, as well as the athletic ability of players, and coaches will need to refine and adapt their methods.

During the period of the COVID-19 pandemic, Mouratoglou created the UTS - a coaching experience that he feels is more in line with the way he would like tennis to evolve.

"Coaching moments are part of the sport's history," he says. "They can be inspiring and exciting, and I find it unfortunate to deprive the audience of them. Tennis is an exception, but I don't think it's a good one.

"Our job is to help players win, and it's extremely frustrating not being able to have a greater impact on the match."

Today, tennis coaches sit in the stands and are mostly unable to communicate with their players.

"It's a real effort during the match," he continues. "You have to be able to absorb your stress and stay very calm to perceive the player's state of mind, and at the same time be clear-headed about what's happening on the court so you can give advice. A tactical tip at a crucial moment can make a big difference."

Now, with the increased use of data, statistics have a far more influential role in the world of tennis. It’s something Mouratoglou does not mind.

"I don't even understand how anyone can be against data. It makes no sense because data gives us tangible information. The eye has its limits, and data often allows us to see beyond what our eyes can perceive."

While tennis could evolve in many different directions over the coming years, Mouratoglou still has the same ambition as always.

"As for me, I hope to be on a court on the professional circuit with a player who is playing for Grand Slam titles," he says.

Winning is always the goal.