Serena Williams’ former coach questions Patrick Mouratoglou

Modified at 02:54 GMT on October 10, 2023

Serena Williams’ former coach Rene Stubbs mentioned Novak Djokovic, Roger Federer and Andre Agassi to rebuke Patrick Mouratoglou’s view that Winning a medal at the Olympics is no more important to a tennis player than winning a Grand Slam title.

Mouratoglou, who has also coached Williams in the past, recently made an explosive statement that undermined the importance of tennis as part of the Olympics. He suggested players care more about winning Grand Slams, saying:

“There’s no real connection between tennis and the Olympics. A lot of tennis players don’t feel like it’s such an important event for tennis. Initially, tennis was in the Olympics, then it was withdrawn, and finally, tennis was reintroduced… … They think the Grand Slams are 100 times more important for a tennis player than the Olympics.”

Stubbs clearly expressed his disagreement with Mouratoglou on this issue. She brought Djokovic, whose only Olympic medal was a bronze in Beijing in 2008, into the conversation. The Serbs have won gold at every Olympics since then, but failed.

In addition, Djokovic burst into tears after losing to Argentina’s Juan Martin del Potro in the first round of the Rio Olympics. Stubbs shared a photo of the 2016 Serbian on X (formerly Twitter) and questioned:

“Is this a guy who doesn’t care about competing and winning in the Olympics??”

Stubbs also shared photos of Roger Federer, Stan Wawrinka and Andre Agassi winning gold medals for their country at the Olympics. She repeated:

“Do these guys look like they don’t care about winning a gold medal at the Olympics?

In 2008, Federer and Wawrinka won the doubles gold medal in Beijing. They defeated the American pair of Bob Bryan and Mike Bryan in the deciding set. Agassi won the Olympic gold medal in Atlanta (1996) defeating Sergi Bruguera.

‘I hope to have the best Olympic result for me there’ – Novak Djokovic hopes for better result in Paris next year

Novak Djokovic will compete for a so far elusive Olympic gold medal in Paris next year. During his illustrious tennis career, the Serbian won every coveted trophy except gold.

Not long ago, he expressed his desire for the 2024 Paris Olympics.

“I’m looking forward to the Olympics. I hope to be in good shape next year in Paris. The match will be on the clay courts of Roland Garros, so I’m familiar with the surfaces. I hope to have the best Olympic results for me. Will go there,” he said at the Dubai Tennis Championships in March.

Djokovic’s performance at the Olympics has continued to improve since 2008, but he has failed each time. He finished fourth in London 2012 and Tokyo 2020. In 2016, the 24-time Grand Slam champion had her worst performance in the singles category, finishing in 33rd place.