Serena Williams' coach Mouratoglou on controversial cheating incident at US Open: 'It was probably one of the biggest moments of her career'
WTA
Serena Williams coach' Patrick Mouratoglou has looked back a year on since a famous incident that occurred in the US Open final between Williams and Naomi Osaka which the latter won.
Despite that though it was overshadowed when Williams received a violation for coaching after Umpire Ramos saw Mouratoglou making gestures. Williams denied any wrongdoing and accused the umpire of being sexist and a thief.
This amounted to her gaining a game penalty and despite that he admits that it was probably one of the biggest moments of her career. He admitted to the cheating and saying in the circumstances it's his job.
“I felt it was an important moment. … It was probably one of the biggest moments of her career. She was in a Grand Slam final to equal the record of all times. And she’s losing, and I feel at that moment she’s lost on the court. So I try to help her. That’s my job.” Mouratoglou told Don Van Natta in a special documentary about the final.
He added though that from his perspective it was also the umpire's fault with him saying that he lost control of the match.
“His job is also to keep the match under control. He totally lost control of the match, completely, because he reacted with emotions. And he’s not supposed to — he’s a chair umpire, he’s not a player.” He said.
Wider effect of the incident
Despite it having an effect on his player, he said in terms of moments it was one of the best in the past ten years and meant that tennis was everywhere afterwards.
“It was horrible for us. It was horrible for Serena. It’s fantastic for tennis. It was unbelievable, that was the best moment in tennis of the past 10 years.” Mouratoglou claims.
“Tennis was everywhere. You don’t have any drama in tennis. We have drama in all the other sports, but not tennis. People should be allowed to be herself and show emotion. You want passion, that’s why people watch sport.
"They want things to happen. They want to feel emotion, they want to root for someone, they want to be shocked, they want to be happy, they want to be sad. That’s what they want and everybody felt something that day.”
Samuel GillEditor-in-Chief
Samuel Gill is the Chief Content Officer (CCO) of TennisUpToDate.com, a role he has held since 2020. He is responsible for editorial governance across the platform, including setting content standards, overseeing accuracy and consistency, and guiding long-term editorial strategy. Since joining, he has contributed more than 10,000 articles and editorial pieces across the TennisUpToDate network, playing a central role in the daily operation and development of the site.
Based in Leicester, Samuel has a broad background in tennis media. In his current role, he works closely with editors and writers to ensure coverage meets clear journalistic standards, with particular attention to verification, consistency, and timely updates when new information becomes available.
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