Tennis coach
Patrick Mouratoglou has showered praise on
Serena Williams, Roger Federer, and his pupil
Holger Rune for the sheer passion that they possess for tennis.
Williams, the 23-time Grand Slam champion, was arguably the best player ever to hold a racquet on the women's circuit. She made her debut in October 1995 and impacted the tennis world like no other player. Her last professional match came in the third round of the 2022 US Open.
Mouratoglou, the current coach of Denmark's Rune, has worked with Williams for over eight years. He recently shared a video on social media and laid emphasis on the need for passion in tennis.
"I think that without passion, there is no way anyone can do anything great. Passion is obsession," Mouratoglou said. "It's being completely driven by something. The champions are totally filled with their passions. They think of it day and night. They play a lot. They practice a lot.
"If you look at the greatest we've had, I know that Roger, being No. 1 in the world, was even watching challenger tournaments. It's insane, the passion for the sport that those people have."
The French coach revealed a similarity between Serena Williams and Rune, saying that both of them would watch tennis videos on YouTube after their practice sessions.
"Of course, Serena, who I know the most, every night after competition, was watching YouTube videos, something that Holger Rune also does," he added. "Whenever he leaves a tennis court, the first thing he does is watch tennis videos."