*Serena Williams coach says she needs to “change her strategy” to achieve Grand Slam success again, having not won the title since returning to tennis after giving birth to her first child. Â
Williams is a 23-time Grand Slam singles champion, but the 38-year-old has lost four major finals since welcoming her daughter in September 2017.
Most recently, she was knocked out of the Australian Open in the third round last month.
“We have to accept the fact that it is not working,” said her coach Patrick Mouratoglou.
OTHER NEWS YOU MIGHT HAVE MISSED: The NFL ‘Inspires Change’ in the Classroom with Year-Round Black History Program – EUR Exclusive/VIDEO
As we embark on a new decade of exploration and discovery, I am super excited to share my new luggage collaboration with @away. No matter where your travels may take you, pack your favorite pieces and do it in style ? #TravelAway #AwayPartner pic.twitter.com/jsegLwOqNV
— Serena Williams (@serenawilliams) February 3, 2020
Speaking to BBC Sport, he added: “Maybe come back with a different angle, a different strategy and different goals so she can make it.
“She does feel positive, she feels negative too because it is a failure when she doesn’t win a Grand Slam.
“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.”
Mouratoglou, who has coached the tennis champ since 2012, said Williams made “far too many errors to be a professional athlete” when she lost to China’s 27th seed Wang Qiang in Melbourne.
He also calls her performance in Melbourne “disappointing.”
“We didn’t expect at all to be losing so early, or to be losing at all,” he said, adding: “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, 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.
“Her level is good enough but we have to understand what is going on and why she is not able to win one. There is a big difference between reaching a final and winning one.”
Williams has won 10 of her Grand Slam singles titles under Mouratoglou.
We Publish News 24/7. Don’t Miss A Story. Click HERE to SUBSCRIBE to Our Newsletter Now!
