What Patrick Mouratoglou told the media when he became Serena Williams’ coach that put ‘enormous pressure’ on him

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Serena Williams enjoyed a legendary tennis career, winning more Grand Slam singles titles in the Open Era than any other woman.

The American WTA star dominated the sport for almost two decades, debuting in the late 1990s before retiring in 2022.

She won her first Grand Slam title at the US Open in 1999, adding to her tally in 2002 by winning three of the four available Major tournaments (French Open, Wimbledon, and US Open).

Williams continued to enjoy success throughout the 2000s and early 2010s, racking up an impressive 13 Grand Slams.

However, her period of dominance looked to be over when she suffered a shock exit in the first round of the 2012 French Open.

Having failed to pick up a Major title for the seventh tournament in a row, Williams brought in a big name to her coaching team, who made a bold statement when coming on board.

Patrick Mouratoglou said if Serena Williams didn’t win more than 13 Grand Slams with him he would ‘fail’

54-year-old Patrick Mouratoglou became Williams’ coach in 2012, as she looked to return to the top of women’s tennis.

The Frenchman now explains what he said when becoming the American’s coach that heaped ‘enormous pressure’ on him.

“I had to deal with enormous pressure that I increased myself by telling the press when I started with her that if she wouldn’t do much better than what she did previously, I would fail,” he said.

“The bar was quite high: she had 13 Grand Slams, and I said ‘With me, she has to win more.’

“The pressure was enormous, I didn’t know before how much I liked pressure.

“Since that day, I know, I really know. It makes me better.”

Williams and Mouratoglou began their coaching relationship at Wimbledon in 2012 and immediately found success at SW19.

The 13-time Slam winner fought hard to reach the final, where she took on Poland’s Agnieszka Radwanska.

• 2012 Wimbledon SF – Serena Williams beat [2] Victoria Azarenka, 6-3, 7-6
• 2012 Wimbledon QF – Serena Williams beat [4] Petra Kvitova, 6-3, 7-5
• 2012 Wimbledon 4R – Serena Williams beat Yaroslava Shvedova, 6-1, 2-6, 7-5
• 2012 Wimbledon 3R – Serena Williams beat [25] Zheng Jie, 6-7, 6-2, 9-7
• 2012 Wimbledon 2R – Serena Williams beat Melinda Czink, 6-1, 6-4
• 2012 Wimbledon 1R – Serena Williams beat Barbora Strycova, 6-2, 6-4

She didn’t have things all her own way against the number three seed, as Radwanska battled back from a set down to level things up at 1-6, 7-5.

It was eventually Williams who prevailed, however, winning in three sets to secure her 14th Major and her first alongside Mouratoglou.

Did Serena Williams win 14 Grand Slams alongside Patrick Mouratoglou?

Mouratoglou suggested it would’ve been a failure for Williams not to win more Grand Slams with him than she did during the early stages of her career.

A tally of 14 was the target, but even with a strong start at Wimbledon in 2012, the pair weren’t quite able to reach those heights.

Williams and Mouratoglou won a mightily impressive ten Grand Slam titles together between 2012 and 2017.

The American’s final Major title came in 2017 at the Australian Open, as she took down her sister at Rod Laver Arena.

Williams beat Venus Williams, 6-4, 6-4, to break Steffi Graf’s record of 22 Open Era Grand Slam titles.

She lost four further Major finals before retiring from tennis upon the conclusion of the 2022 US Open tournament.

Mouratoglou has since spent time coaching Simona Halep and Holger Rune but now works alongside four-time Major champion Naomi Osaka.

Osaka is scheduled to return to action at the 2025 Madrid Open on April 21.