Serena Williams’ former coach names ‘only’ way tennis legend would make a comeback

Serena Williams’ former coach Patrick Mouratoglou has said the US tennis legend will only return if she believes she has a realistic chance of winning.There has been plenty of speculation over a possible Williams return after the 23-time Grand Slam winner’s name reappeared on the anti-doping testing pool list.

And even as she herself denied an imminent return to the sport she last played competitively in 2022, that has not stopped many wondering if a comeback is on the cards.While the speculation continues, her former coach Mouratoglou has suggested the 44-year-old would only return to tennis – an available sportsbook on Sportzino – if she could compete with the very best.

” I think when Serena wants something and when she puts her heart in it, there are not much things that are impossible,” he told the Express. “So I guess, if she thinks about her comeback, she will only [do it] if she thinks she can compete with the best.

“Otherwise, she will not. That’s not her mindset. That’s never been her mindset.”

As for the possibility of her coming back, Mouratoglou did not rule it out and suggested she was still in top physical condition.

“Maybe this is something that crossed her mind because she’s in super shape, as everybody saw,” the Frenchman said.

“She looks like she’s back to being a top athlete after being a mother. So maybe it crossed her mind, and maybe she opened that opportunity. But to open an opportunity and to do it, there is, I think, a long way to go, so I guess we’ll know in a few months if it happens.”

Mourat coached Williams from 2012 to 2022 after she had suffered her first-ever opening-round defeat in a Grand Slam. With Mourat in her box, Williams won three more Wimbledon titles, three more US Open titles, two more French Opens titles, two more Austrian Open titles and the Olympic gold.

Another female player on Mourat’s radar is Emma Raducanu, who is at the opposite end of her career to Williams. Asked by ITV about the young Briton, Mouratoglou said he saw a lot of potential.

“I think her potential is very big,” he said.

“I mean, she’s won a Grand Slam, but after that, it was very difficult for her.

“I think [she had had] way too many coaches working with her. I think if you look at all the very successful tennis players, you need to follow a path for a few years to build yourself through a project.

“Whenever you change coaches, you change your project. If you change your project every six months, it’s too difficult.

“So, for her, the big challenge is to trust someone for a period that is long enough, so she can really build something solid in her game for the future.”