Serena Williams’ ex-coaches Rennae Stubbs and Patrick Mouratoglou come at a crossroads over the importance of Olympics gold medal following the Frenchman’s latest claim

Former Olympian and 4-times singles Grand Slam winner, Rennae Stubbs has a contrastingly different opinion on the Olympic Games than Patrick Mouratoglou.

Serena Williams’ ex-coaches Rennae Stubbs and Patrick Mouratoglou come at a crossroads over the importance of Olympics gold medal following the Frenchman’s latest claim

L-R: Patrick Mouratoglou, Serena Williams and Rennae Stubbs (Images via: Sky Sports/Daily Freeman/Pinterest)

The Olympic games are one of the most prestigious international sports events which are held every four years. 23-time Grand Slam champion Serena Williams, alongside her sister Venus Williams, holds the record for winning a total of 4 gold medals at the Olympics, which is the highest honor for any athlete. However, the contrastingly different views of Serena’s former coaches, Frenchman Patrick Mouratoglou, and former tennis star Rennae Stubbs on the importance of the Olympics has sparked a debate among fans in the tennis world.

In tennis, many fans as well as players share the sentiment that in tennis, the four Grand Slam events, held every year, are the most important events in a calendar year. Patrick Mouratoglou recently shared his thoughts on the importance of Olympic games for a tennis player. “There is no history between between tennis and Olympic games,” he claimed in a reel he shared on his Instagram handle.

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“There is no real connection between tennis and Olympic Games,” Mouratoglou said in the short clip he posted on his handle. “A Grand Slam is a 100 times more important for a tennis player for a tennis player than the Olympic Games,” he claimed further.

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The tennis coach went on to explain how, unlike tennis, which has the Grand Slam events, there are not many important tournaments in several sports other than the Olympic Games. Former tennis player and 4 times Olympic medalist herself, Rennae Stubbs expressed her disagreement with these claims.

Stubbs posted a collage of pictures of tennis players who won gold at the Olympics. “Here’s a few photos of recent gold medal winners at the Olympics. You tell me it means nothing to them,” Stubbs wrote in her recent post on the social media platform X. The pictures included big names like the 22 times Grand Slam winner Rafael Nadal, Andrey Rublev, Belinda Bencic, Monica Puig, and Anastasia Pavlyuchenkova who were seen radiating joy following their first-place finish.

For many players, including the likes of Rafael Nadal and Iga Swiatek, winning gold at the Olympics for their country still remains one of their biggest dreams. Like many others, this is one of those debates in tennis, which divides tennis fans into different groups.

Explore: Venus Williams comes ‘out’ of retirement to team up with Ons Jabeur in doubles for the upcoming event in Tunisia

Which big players in tennis have an Olympic medal to their name?

It is worth noting that Novak Djokovic, who is deemed to be one of the best players in the history of tennis, does not have a gold medal in the Olympics. Djokovic won a bronze in the 2008 Beijing Olympics.

Roger Federer has won an Olympic gold in doubles (in 2008) and a silver in singles (in 2012). Rafael Nadal, on the other hand, won an Olympic gold at the 2008 Olympics. Andy Murray is the only player to have won two gold medals in the Olympic tennis singles event. German tennis No.1, Alexander Zverev also has an Olympic gold to his name (2020 Olympics). 

Novak Djokovic and Rafael Nadal
Novak Djokovic and Rafael Nadal (Image via: Sports Illustrated)

Serena Williams, whom Patrick Mouratoglou used to coach in the past, has the highest number of Olympic gold medals in women’s tennis (4). She has one Olympic gold in the singles category and three in the doubles. Her sister Venus Williams also has four gold medals and a silver to her name at the prestigious games. Many fans are of the opinion that with his recent claims, Mouratoglou is downplaying the achievement of Serena in his recent statement despite being her coach for an entire decade.

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