The coach of Serena Williams says he has no regrets about being involved in an incident that overshadowed the 2018 US Open women’s final.
Patrick Mouratoglou made headlines during the New York major after he was caught on camera making gestures towards the former world No.1 from the crowd. Indicating that he was providing some kind of coaching which is prohibited under Grand Slam rules. Carlos Ramos, who was umpiring Williams’ clash with Naomi Osaka, then issued the American with a code violation for coaching. Triggering an angry response from Williams, who denied any wrongdoing and engaged in a heated confrontation with Ramos.
The controversy-stricken match resulted in the frustrated 23-time grand slam champion receiving a game penalty after committing three separate violations of the rules. Following the match, Ramos was accused of sexism by some but the International Tennis Federation concluded that he did nothing wrong. Something Mouratoglou firmly disagrees with.
“Of course it is not very comfortable when you are in the eye of the storm but I am not scared, I am very relaxed,” Mouratoglou is quoted as saying in the Daily Mail.
“I didn’t do anything wrong, I just did what all coaches do all year long.
“I think he (Ramos) did a terrible job, but we all make mistakes. Coaches coach (from the stands), we all know that.”
Whilst the prestigious French coach raises a valid point that many mentors like him do guide their mentors from the stands, it is still a prohibited offence in the majors. Therefore, he did break the rules nonetheless. However, on-court coaching is allowed on the WTA Tour between games.
Despite the fiery confrontation, Mouratoglou insists that the incident was actually a good thing for the sport. Citing the worldwide coverage it generated in the aftermath.
“Every morning we have a meeting of everyone involved,” he said.
“I came in the room and they were all there. he recalls. There was silence because everyone was feeling uncomfortable.
“I stood up and I said ‘listen guys, yesterday was the worst day ever for Team Serena because she lost and because of what happened. But it was the best day for tennis, because tennis is everywhere, it’s great for tennis. So it depends how you look at it’.
“People watch sports like they watch a movie, they want to feel emotion.
“Watching tennis today is like watching a movie full of very nice people doing nothing wrong. We lack a bit of authenticity.”
Mouratoglou is the co-founder of the Ultimate Tennis Showdown (UTS), which will get underway this weekend. The tournament takes place during the Tour suspension and will have prize money up for grabs. Top 10 players Stefanos Tsitsipas, Matteo Berrettini and David Goffin will all be playing in the round-robin event, which will be held over five weeks. Furthermore, unlike the Tour player’s will not be penalised for any emotional outbursts on the court.
“It’s a real competition and it’s a new tour,” he said. “The players are going to win points, they’re going to earn prize money. And at the end of the year, there will be a champion.
“So they’re going to really compete with the same motivation as if they were playing a tournament.”
The first UTS match to take place will be between Goffin and Alexi Popyrin, whose father is the co-founder.
