Coach Patrick Mouratoglou has no doubt that Serena Williams will forever be remembered as a great champion and that the final years of her career won’t impact her legacy.
Williams, 41, ended her astonishing tennis career after the US Open.
Williams didn’t really play much in the final three years of her career, mostly due to injuries.
Williams, who made a surprise return at Wimbledon, was just 3-4 in her seven matches singles matches this year.
But Williams finished her career with 23 Grand Slams and many believe that prime Williams was the most dominant player in WTA history.
Williams captured her final Grand Slam in 2017 as she lost the last four Major finals in her career.
“I think if she’s happy at the end of her career, that’s all that matters because nobody will remember the end of her career. You remember it now because it’s fresh, but everyone will remember what a champion she was, all the Grand Slams she won, the things she brought to tennis and how she made history. The end of her career is an anecdote,” Mouratoglou told Eurosport.
Mouratoglou worked with Williams for a decade
After sustaining a leg injury at 2021 Wimbledon, no one really knew what Williams’ intentions were.
In April, Mouratoglou announced his decision to become the new full-time coach of Simona Halep.
In his statement, Mouratoglou underlined that he made the decision only after Williams gave him the green light to start working with Halep.
After Mouratoglou started working with Halep, some felt that meant that Williams wasn’t coming back to tennis.
Then in June, Williams made a surprise announcement as she accepted a main draw wildcard into Wimbledon.
In early August, Williams announced the US Open would be the final tournament of her career.
After going just 1-3 in her first three tournaments played, Williams performed better at the US Open.
At Flushing Meadows, Williams stunned Anett Kontaveit in the second round, who at the time was the second-ranked player in the world.
In the end, Williams’ US Open run ended with a three-set defeat to Ajla Tomljanovic in the third round.
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