More than a decade ago, Serena Williams was struggling to find her form following a shocking first-round exit at the 2012 French Open. Local player Virginie Razzano, ranked 111th, stunned the American icon who had won 13 slams by then. It was a tough phase, but being Serena, the then 30-year-old WTA star, decided to improve herself. And she did eventually. So much so that by the time she retired in 2022, she had accumulated 23 Grand Slam singles titles to her credit. And it happened with the help of a magnificent coach, Frenchman Patrick Mouratoglou. Under his tutelage, the American legend touched great heights, especially across major events. While their player-coach dynamic lasted for a decade, its beginning was bizarre, to say the least. How? Well, Mouratoglou just spilled the beans on his story of becoming Serena’s longtime trainer.

In an interaction with Tennis Channel, dated April 29, former WTA pro Tracy Austin got very curious to know how Mouratoglou’s relationship as a coach with Williams came into being. So, how did it all begin? Mouratoglou said, “I mean, the way she found me was quite weird because she was not looking for a coach.” Really?

Elaborating on the tale, he further revealed, “She was looking for a place to practice in Paris after her loss in the (French Open) first round. So she, I mean, she knew me just a little bit. She knew I had an academy in Paris at that time. I was not in south of France, so she called me to have just a court and two hitting partners, which I did.”

Mouratoglou continued, “I was standing next to the court. And after 45 minutes hitting, she suddenly turned to me. I was outside the court and she said, ‘Talk to me’. So I didn’t expect it.” And what happened afterwards? “So I talked to her, I told her the things that I was seeing, and then she said, ‘Can we work on it?’ So I stepped on the court and I started to work with her. That’s literally how it started.”

During that time in 2012, he was also coaching Bulgaria’s ATP player Grigor Dimitrov. So Mouratoglou had to ask him if he was fine with him working with Serena. “Grigor said yes, and that’s really how it started.”

As a coach, the Frenchman may have helped Serena to take her Grand Slam tally from 13 to 23 in ten years, but during their time together, her work ethic left him speechless. Especially her champion mindset, even during the most challenging moments. He threw light on this aspect on a previous occasion, recalling a specific clay season. One where she fought herself and emerged victorious at the Roland Garros.

Patrick Mouratoglou on how Serena Williams defied physical pain to pull off an ‘impossible’ French Open triumph

Last month, Patrick Mouratoglou sat down with Rainn Wilson for an interaction, dated April 10, for his Soul Boom podcast. During their conversation, the Frenchman spilled the beans on what made Serena Williams different from others. Especially when it comes to the mindset and will to win, no matter what.

Citing an example, he recalled how the American WTA icon overcame extreme illness to win the 2015 French Open. She battled through the entire event with 40°C fever – “the maximum you can have,” he noted.

Explaining how difficult it was for her to even move, let alone play matches, he added, “So she couldn’t leave the bed for the whole French Open. She stayed in bed. You have no idea she couldn’t even walk. She couldn’t walk. A few times I told her, ‘Let’s go outside and walk at least for a few minutes. You cannot stay in bed all day.’ Couldn’t move. We did zero practice, zero warm-up before matches. So she was going straight from the bed to the stadium to play the match. She lost every first set because she was dead. But then the rage, the refusal to lose, came in, and she won.”

Later, he got to know how, after every match, Serena used to go to the locker room and lie down “for at least one hour on the floor after every match, crying.” Why? “Because she gave more than what she had, and she won the French Open. This is impossible. But she did it.” In the final battle at the Roland Garros in 2015, she beat Czechia’s Lucie Safarova with a score line of 6-3, 6-7 (2-7), 6-2.

“That’s why I’m saying someone who believes in herself that much, who thinks that whatever circumstances she’s going to win, this is incredible. This is really incredible.” Truly, that’s the reason perhaps why Serena is regarded as one of the most legendary athletes of all time.

What are your thoughts on the former tennis icon and her never-give-up mindset? Let us know in the comments below.