"I said it a million times" - Patrick Mouratoglou chimes in on why Serena Williams surpasses Margaret Court despite Grand Slam tally

The Greatest of all Time (GOAT) debate will always be a controversial topic in the tennis community, but renown coach Patrick Mouratoglou threw his support behind the belief that Serena Williams is indeed the greatest player of all time.

Williams called an end to her illustrious career at the 2022 US Open, hanging up her racket after breaking every record in the sport. Additionally, the American finished with 23 Grand Slam singles titles, the most by a female tennis player in the Open Era.

Although Williams record sits at the top of the list for the Open Era, some in the tennis community refuse to acknowledge her as the GOAT due to retired Australian tennis player Margaret Court having 24 Grand Slam singles titles, as compared to Williams' 23. However, Court's number of Major titles includes trophies from before the Open Era, which were not taken into account until Williams had surpassed Steffi Graf, who has 22 Grand Slam titles.

"Steffi Graf was considered the GOAT with 22 Slams.....until Serena Williams got 23," wrote an astute fan on Twitter. "All of a sudden, Margaret Court with her mix of Open Era and pre-Open Era titles because the best-ever. I am very curious why @serenawilliams and perhaps @pmouratoglou didn't talk about this openly? Serena Williams should never have been put under so much pressure by the media and tennis establishment to overtake Margaret Court. Court's 24 Slams simply do not count."

Mouratoglou, who coached Williams during most of her adult career, responded by stating he shared the fan's sentiments.

"I said it a million times," replied Mouratoglou. "With all due respect, the record of Margaret Court was establish at a time when tennis was not even a professional sport. Winning GS at that time can never be considered as winning GS in the open era."