After Serena Williams lost at the Australian Open last month, her coach Patrick Mouratoglou said some changes need to be made.
Mouratoglou — who’s worked with Williams since 2012 — recently spoke to BBC Sport about her recent losses and where she is mentally these days.
Since Williams and her husband Alexis Ohanian welcomed their daughter Alexis Olympia Ohanian Jr. on Sept. 1, 2017, the tennis pro has lost four major titles and was beaten in the third round of the Australian Open.
“We have to accept the fact that it is not working,” said Mouratoglou. “Maybe come back with a different angle, a different strategy and different goals so she can make it.”
Williams — who won the Auckland Classic in January, her first title since becoming a mom — currently has 23 Grand Slam titles and wants to reach 24 to equal Margaret Court, who holds the record.
“She does feel positive, she feels negative too because it is a failure when she doesn’t win a Grand Slam,” Mouratoglou explained.
“We have to face reality, but she is positive that she can make it, otherwise she probably wouldn’t be on a tennis court anymore. She believes she can make it and I believe it too. She’s not that far, but we have to change a few things.”
The coach also spoke about Williams’ defeat at the Australian Open.
“We didn’t expect at all to be losing so early or to be losing at all,” he said. “She had everything to retire, 23 Grand Slam titles. But she decided to come back, she decided to make all the efforts, the physical efforts, the mental efforts, to come back to the game, with the goal to score more Grand Slams and beat the all-time record.”
“It’s difficult to know how many chances she will have,” added Mouratoglou. “I don’t know how long she is going to be able to play, but being able to reach four Grand Slam finals says a lot about her level, and she’s not that far.”
In related news, Williams recently talked about her marriage, and how she and Ohanian remain close while having busy schedules.
“It takes a lot of time and effort,” Williams told E! News. “He travels a lot. It’s about having great communication and understanding, and above all it’s all about [being] loving.”
“That’s the most important quality anytime, and it covers everything,” added Williams. “We FaceTime a lot. We have prayer time at night. That’s really special. We always do that. We try not to miss it a lot.”
Williams and her husband tied the knot in November of 2017 in New Orleans.
