Patrick Mouratoglou says it is absolute nonsense to even think that Venus Williams won a main-level match because the current WTA Tour is bad or anything like that.
In July, the organizers of the WTA 500 tournament announced the seven-time Grand Slam champion as a wildcard recipient. However, some instantly had issues with that, arguing that giving it to a 45-year-old who hadn't played in nearly a year and a half was a complete waste of a wildcard.
Williams heard all of the chatter and let her racket do the talking, impressively beating 22 years younger Peyton Stearns 6-3 6-4. While the majority applauded the former world No. 1's performance, some of the critics started pushing another narrative - that the American managed to win only because the WTA Tour level was so bad.
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Mouratoglou, who worked with Serena Williams for a decade, couldn't believe what some had to say about Venus' win and decided to strongly address it.
Mouratoglou: Venus Williams is a champion and knows how to compete more than anyone
"Some people will say Venus Williams won the match because the WTA level is low. This is BS. The level is not low, it's just that Venus is a champion. She's a huge competitor. She's been at such a high level for so many years, even though she's out of competition for 16 months. When she comes back, she knows how to compete more than anyone. Of course, when you're 45, the physical decreases," Mouratoglou explained in a video uploaded to his Instagram account.
By beating 53rd-ranked Stearns, Williams registered her first singles since beating Veronika Kudermetova in 2023 Cincinnati.
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"She knows she can win the match and she thinks she should win the match," the French coach added.
After beating Stearns, Williams lost to Magdalena Frech in the Washington round-of-16 and also fell short to Jessica Bouzas Maneiro in the Cincinnati first round. On Wednesday, the US Open organizers handed the former world No. 1 a main draw wildcard.
