"Her family comes first" - Patrick Mouratoglou believes Serena Williams has had a slight change in mindset
WTA
After winning her 23rd Grand Slam singles title at the 2017 Australian Open, Serena Williams has been on a quest to capture the elusive 24th title and Patrick Mouratoglou believes this has been difficult due to the American's shift in mindset.
Mouratoglou, who has been coaching Williams for several years, stated that the former World No.1 does not need the record-equaling 24th Grand Slam title to be considered the greatest of all time.
"Does she need that validation? I don’t think she needs that validation," said Mouratoglou. "It would be better if Serena broke her record but, if she doesn't, she will still be the greatest player of all time.”
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However, he believes that Williams has had a slight change in mindset since giving birth to her daughter four years ago, as becoming a mother has taken priority over everything else.
"She still has it,” Mouratoglou told AFP. “The question is how much she wants it and what is she willing to do to get there? Since she had her daughter, it's harder. She has a lot of trouble not putting her life as a mother before her life as a player, which is completely understandable.
"I think that's the main reason she didn't win a Grand Slam. Her family comes first and, in order to be able to do great things in one area, that area can't come second. She is reflecting and we will see what comes out of it."
Growing up in a household where soccer was king, my earliest memories are filled with chants from packed stadiums and the rhythm of a ball being passed across neighborhood streets. But somewhere along the way, the quiet elegance and raw emotion of tennis pulled me in. What began as a curiosity became a lifelong passion; not just for the sport itself, but for the stories it tells: of grit, of heartbreak, of improbable comebacks and human resilience.
As a tennis writer, I bring the observational lens of someone who didn’t grow up in the sport, but fell in love with it as an outsider; a perspective that lets me see both its technical beauty and its emotional depth. Over the years working with TennisUpToDate, I’ve had the privilege of reaching more than 3.5 million readers worldwide, with one of my features ranking among the site’s top three articles.
With a background in storytelling and a creative mind always searching for meaning beyond the scoreboard, I aim to craft narratives that go deeper than results and rankings. Whether it’s a rising star breaking through or a veteran fighting off Father Time, I try to capture the heartbeat behind the headlines.
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