“She probably wants to test herself in doubles first”: Patrick Mouratoglou views Serena return as a “performance test” before Wimbledon decision

Patrick Mouratoglou, former coach of Serena Williams, delivered a detailed assessment of the former world No. 1’s return to competition, framing it as a strictly performance-based process rather than a symbolic comeback. The former coach of the 23-time Grand Slam champion outlined a clear interpretation of her decision-making logic, centred on competitiveness rather than participation or legacy.

Williams, currently 44 years old, is expected to return to competition nearly four years after her last singles match at the 2022 US Open. Her first step is scheduled to come at the Queen’s Club Championships in doubles, where she is set to partner Victoria Mboko and face seeded opposition in her opening match.

For Mouratoglou, who was her coach in 10 of Serena’s major titles, the American’s return will be focused on showing her best possible level and seeing whether she truly feels in condition to be competitive at the highest level and even challenge top-ranked players upon her return.

Williams is just a couple of days away from returning to the courts, in an unexpected partnership with Victoria Mboko. The Canadian was still a junior when Serena retired, so it will be their first tournament together, while they have been preparing in recent days training at the HSBC Championships.

Mouratoglou explained that Serena Williams’ decision to re-enter competition through doubles is not a soft introduction, but a functional assessment of her level under real match conditions.

“Serena is not someone who will come back if she does not feel capable of playing and beating the best. I think going straight into singles is not her plan,” Mouratoglou said to Eurosport. “She probably wants to test herself in doubles first, and that is probably why she asked for a new wildcard in doubles,” the coach said to Eurosport France.

He added that the possibility of a Wimbledon singles wildcard cannot be dismissed outright, but it remains entirely conditional on her evaluation after the initial step. “If she is satisfied with her level, she may then request a singles wildcard for Wimbledon. In any case, that does not seem implausible to me, but it is entirely dependent on what she discovers in doubles.”

A central element of Mouratoglou’s analysis is Serena Williams’ competitive identity. He rejects the idea that her return could be motivated by anything other than winning conditions.

“If it is about playing secondary roles, that is absolutely not in her mentality. So I think this doubles test is also about seeing whether she feels capable of beating the best. Doubles is not singles, of course, but it is already a first taste of competition.”

Mouratoglou expanded his analysis by focusing on what he sees as Serena Williams’ defining trait: an absence of conventional limits in her competitive thinking. He questioned whether traditional notions of caution or “lucidity” apply to her decision-making process.

“She will have the necessary lucidity, at 44 years old, to say: ‘okay, actually, this is too much.’ Now, lucidity… first, whether it is too much or not, I don’t know. I think Serena has shown me so many times that she is capable of things that are theoretically impossible that I believe she is capable of anything.”

He then challenged that very idea of lucidity, arguing that it does not accurately describe how she has historically operated in high-pressure situations. “Second, lucidity… I don’t think so, and I don’t hope so. It is not one of her qualities in that sense. If she had been ‘lucid,’ she would never have done the exceptional things she has done, because she would have told herself it was not possible.”

To illustrate, Mouratoglou recalled a personal exchange that, in his view, captures her competitive mentality more accurately than any abstract description.

“When she told me, for example, while she was seven months pregnant: ‘from September, find me a new sparring partner,’ I replied: ‘Serena, in September you will give birth.’ She said: ‘so what?’ I told her: ‘you are not going to start training again right after giving birth.’ And she replied: ‘don’t underestimate me.’ Is that lucidity? No. Is it a good way of thinking? Of course. That is why she is Serena.”

He concluded that any comeback should be interpreted through this same lens: not risk calculation, but belief-driven competitiveness. “So I hope she is not ‘lucid,’ and I hope she tries the impossible, because if there is one person capable of doing the impossible, it is her.”