Patrick Mouratoglou tells Serena Williams what she needs to improve after her first match
Patrick Mouratoglou worked with Serena Williams for a decade between 2012 and 2022, and he is well aware of the levels she can reach on a tennis court.
The French coach oversaw 10 Grand Slam victories and an Olympic gold medal during his time with Williams and he’s been outspoken in his support for the star after her comeback.
Mouratoglou said ‘nothing is impossible’ for Williams following her return and she proved that by winning her first doubles match at Queen’s alongside Victoria Mboko.
Her former coach was watching Williams’ return just like millions of her fans and, while he was impressed, he believes there are several things she can improve.
Speaking on The Big T Podcast, Mouratoglou outlined several areas Williams will need to improve if her return is going to be a successful one.
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“I think what is missing, and it’s normal because she went four years without competition and probably at least three years without even practicing,” he said in an interview with Brad Gilbert and Nick Monroe.
“It’s the movement, it’s the reaction time, it’s the return. think she struggled a lot on the return. The girls were serving body all the time and she was struggling.”
This will not come as a surprise to Williams, as she has already cited improvements she wants to make for her next match at Queen’s with Mboko.
In Williams’ post-match Queen’s press conference, she dubbed her performance a C-, despite picking up a straight sets victory in her return match.
In a on-court interview with The Tennis Channel, Williams also said she was disappointed with her return of serve during her first match in nearly four years.
“I need to make some returns next match, which I will,” she said. “I didn’t miss one in practice, but that was a little embarrassing out there. But the good news is I can do better!”
Williams and Mboko will next play the team of Leylah Fernandez and Laura Siegemund in the second round of Queen’s, and the American will be hoping she can extend her run at the tournament in order to play as much matches as possible.
She is also set to play the Berlin Open the week following Queen’s and she has been confirmed to play alongside Karolina Muchova in Germany.
Many expect the American to play Wimbledon at the end of the month too, but that is yet to be confirmed by the grass court Grand Slam.
