Serena Williams is widely considered the greatest tennis player in history. The 38-year-old has already won 73 titles (23 of them as slams) and she is striving for matching Margaret Court’s 24-slam record.
Serena is now an icon for the black community and beyond. One of the most appreciated elements of her personality is that she is not shy about showing her emotions. The American legend managed to reach 4 slam finals after giving birth to her daughter Olympia, but she has always missed winning that 7th match that would allow her to reach Court’s record.
In 2018, the American had an epic meltdown during the US Open final against Naomi Osaka that hit the headlines around the world. Serena had 3 code violations that ended with an incredible quarrel with the umpire Carlos Ramos.
That was a bad day for Team Serena….
As reported by the Daily Mail, the day after that final, Serena’s coach Patrick Mouratoglou admitted that it was a rather bad day.
“Every morning we have a meeting of everyone involved. I came into the room and they were all there. 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,” he said.
… but it was good for tennis
However, the Frenchman added that it was a great day for tennis because finally someone expressed her strong emotions on the tennis court. Patrick has always stated that tennis has been lacking authenticity and this is what has to be added to the sport to lure a younger fanbase whose average age is now 61.
“But it was the best day for tennis because tennis is everywhere, it’s great for tennis. So it depends on 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.” he added.
Mouratoglou and the UTS
Staying true to his words, Mouratoglou is launching the Ultimate Tennis Showdown that is a competition that will be played with no fans at his Academy in the South of France following a format compatible with the current Coronavirus Pandemic. A key element of this event will be that tennis players will not be encouraged to express their emotions.
The Ultimate Tennis Showdown will start on the 13th of June and it will be played over 5 weekends. Some top players such as Stefanos Tsitsipas, David Goffin, and Felix Auger Aliasisme have already agreed to play.
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Serena Williams in 2020
Currently ranked no.9, Serena played her last match on the 8th of February when she lost to Anastasija Sevastova 7-65 3-6 7-64 in the Rubber 4 of the Fed Cup.
At the moment, this season the American has a 8-2 win-loss record. The American clinched 1 title in Auckland.
