French Open: Williams coach Mouratoglou: Serena should not have played doubles

Serena Williams’ coach Patrick Mouratoglou does not understand his protégé’s decision.

After the cancellation of the quarter-final clash against Maria Sharapova due to a chest muscle injury, the big question was: Why on earth had Serena competed in doubles the day before? Williams himself explained that he had tried various taping measures there – but her coach Patrick Mouratoglou would have preferred a rejection.

“I didn’t like it at all. I’ve been telling them to stop playing doubles for three years,” the Frenchman told the New York Times. Williams played singles and doubles for six days in a row – that was probably too much. “Certainly,” said Mouratoglou, who apparently knew nothing of the injury after the Görges match.

The coach explains the late cancellation as follows: “It was reported rain, and if that had been the case, we would have had one more day. But it wasn’t raining, all the elements were against us.”

But Mouratoglou quickly became an optimist again. “It’s okay,” he said, “she’s gonna win Wimbledon.”