Patrick Mouratoglou challenges Toni Nadal’s racquet size proposal: “It's going to hurt the game”

Patrick Mouratoglou responded to Toni Nadal after the Spaniard’s proposal to reduce racquet size. The French coach, currently working with Naomi Osaka, took to social media to discuss the need for more rallies and to prevent the game from becoming a ‘battle of aces.’

The evolution of tennis has changed the sport over the years, increasingly favouring players with powerful serves who win points quickly, limiting the number of rallies we see in a match—especially on faster courts.

Regarding this issue, Rafael Nadal’s former coach—Uncle Toni—spoke to the French newspaper Le Monde, suggesting the idea of making the ball travel slower. According to the Spanish coach, the sport needs more rallies to enhance the spectacle.

“In tennis, the size of the net is immutable, whereas the average height of players on the circuit has risen from 1.75m in my time to 1.90m today, and they are also more powerful,” Toni Nadal said. “I propose reducing the size of racquets. Because the very nature of the game has changed.”

Patrick Mouratoglou, one of the most renowned coaches of the past decades, agreed with Toni Nadal on the need for fewer aces but proposed a different solution. “It hurts tennis that there are too many aces, serve winners. I don't think having a smaller racket is a good idea because it's going to hurt the game,” he stated. “The game will not be as fast and powerful as it is now. The serve has become so important that the players who emerge the most are those with big serves, so they’re very tall.”

The former coach of Serena Williams pointed to a special rule used in the Ultimate Tennis Showdown, an exhibition event he organises throughout the year, featuring top-ranked players in an alternative format.

“What solves the problem is having only one serve. I think what we did at UTS—having only one serve instead of two—solves the issue,” the former Simona Halep coach added. “We have many more rallies, far fewer aces and serve winners, which is what we want. We want more rallies and less… boom, serve, winner, ace, missed return… we don’t want that. We want to see rallies. Having an ace once in a while is fine, but not too many.”