Serena Williams’s coach, Patrick Mouratoglou, is destined to hit the headlines once again. The smart Frenchman is also the owner of one of the most renowned tennis Academy in the world located in the South of France.
Patrick can rely on a partnership with many top players that are training with him or at his center. Besides coaching Serena, the Frenchman has a partnership with the likes of Stefanos Tsitsipas, Coco Gauff and Alexei Popyrin, just to name some.
The Ultimate Tennis Showdown
Mouratoglou has never struggled with creativity and undertaking brave moves. Patrick announced the launch of the Ultimate Tennis Showdown (UTS) in May to feed the hunger of tennis fans that is getting stronger and stronger since the tours were suspended in March.
In a statement on Saturday, Patrick commented: “The UTS is simply meant to be an alternative to what already exists. It’s a platform created to showcase the incredible talent, athleticism and personalities of the wide range of players.
It offers a new and innovative approach, targeting a younger tennis audience and proposes a different way to distribute the money among the players.”
The overall idea
The UTS will be played over weekends and begin on May 16-17 without fans at the Patrick Mouratoglou Academy and it is planned to be played every weekend for 5 weeks with 50 fixtures in total. The format will still alive also after the pandemic.
Patrick will inject some of his ideas on how to improve tennis. Serena’s coach has always been vocal about how good is coaching in tennis also to give a different perspective to fans (and we agree with that).
Therefore, fans will be able to listen at the conversations between players and coaches and players will be allowed to express their emotions (therefore the code of conduct will be lighter).
The co-founder of the UTS is Alex Popyrin that is the father of the upcoming Australian Alexei Popyrin (world no.103). Alex commented:
“Fans watching at home will feel closer than ever before to the stars of tennis through our engaging format. There’s no doubt the UTS, with thrilling single matches and millions of US dollars in prize money, has the potential to be the world’s most exciting tennis competition.”
Alex Popyrin and world no.10 David Goffin have already agreed to play and they will clash in the inaugural match.
Patrick Mouratoglou announces series of unofficial tennis events without spectators called "UTS" starting May 16-17 at his academy if and when French lockdown ends. Says Goffin/Popyrin committed and wants 10 players in all and he hopes series continueshttps://t.co/SRymKg7bH4
— Christopher Clarey 🇺🇸 🇫🇷 🇪🇸 (@christophclarey) April 18, 2020
Serena Williams’s ranking and performance in 2020
Currently ranked no.9, the American played her last match on the 8th of February when she capitulated to Anastasija Sevastova 7-65 3-6 7-64 in the Rubber 4 of the Fed Cup.
During this season the American has a 8-2 win-loss record. The American has won 1 title in Auckland.
Serena Williams |
| Embed from Getty Images |
