Romanian tennis player and former world number one Simona Halep will now work under the baton of French coach Patrick Mouratoglou, Serena Williams’ coach for the past 10 years.
Mouratoglou said in a statement posted on social media that he accepted Halep’s offer after asking Williams and receiving her approval. The American tennis player is currently out of competition due to injury. The Frenchman, who has been a coach for players like Stefanos Tsitsipas and Coco Gauff, will start with the Romanian tennis player in the clay court seasonto prepare the Mutua Madrid Open which will start in May.
“In the last eight months I realized how much I missed training. It’s my life’s passion and I still feel like I have a lot to give. Simona came to Mouratoglou Academy before Indian Wells for a training block and I saw her train. At the end of the week, she asked me if I was available to train her. I have the utmost respect for her, but it was out of the question at the time.”
Mouratoglou spoke to Serena Williams “weeks later” about the possibility of training Halep, and the American “opened the door” to work with another player “at least in the short term.” Halep, the current world number 20 and the 2019 Wimbledon champion, announced her separation from coach Darren Cahill in September last year.