Mouratoglou wants women’s UTS on a regular basis, “asking Serena every day” to play

The coach and brains behind Ultimate Tennis Showdown says he is really keen for his most famous collaborator to compete at his event

Patrick Mouratoglou & Serena Williams at the US Open in 2019 ©

Carrie Dunn

May 23, 2021

Patrick Mouratoglou says he wants Serena Williams to play at a forthcoming edition of Ultimate Tennis Showdown – and added that he will coach her if and when she does.

Prior to the beginning of UTS4 – to be held on red clay at the Mouratoglou Tennis Academy in the south of France – the Frenchman confirmed he is asking the 23-time Grand Slam champion “every day” if she will play at one of the tournaments.

Mouratoglou: “If Serena plays, for sure, I will coach every time!”

And he said that he would don the headphones and microphone to coach her too – fans listening in to the coaches’ advice to their players is one of the unique aspects of the UTS experience.

“If Serena plays, for sure, I will coach every time!” he told TennisMajors. “I started at the US Open, I’m going to finish it at UTS. I use my hand signals because people like it, apparently.

“I would love Serena to play. She would love to play, too. We just have to find the right timing. This UTS is going to be only ATP players playing, but you know how much I love the women’s game. So it’s definitely a goal to have men and women, and as soon as we have women, the first person to ask, you know who she is: Serena.”

UTS4 begins on Monday May 24. The rules are essentially the same as the earlier editions – but with eight-minute quarters, reduced from the initial ten. During the quarters there are no games, just a running score as players alternate serving two points apiece. The player with the most points when the clock runs out at the end of the quarter wins the quarter – and the first to three quarters wins the match.

There are no second serves at UTS4, the first instalment of the competition to be held on clay – with a brand-new court configuration, with no doubles corridor and the net adjusted to meet the singles sidelines.