By Chris Oddo | @TheFanChild | Thursday April 7, 2022
Simona Halep announced that she'll commence working with the longtime coach of Serena Williams.
Photo Source: Simona Halep Instagram
Simona Halep and Patrick Mouratoglou have officially announced that they have begun a working relationship.
Halep, who started working at the Mouratoglou Academy in Nice, France for a week prior to Indian Wells, worked with coach Morgan Bourbon while at the BNP Paribas Open.
Today it was announced that Mouratoglou himself will take the helm ahead of the clay season.
“Excited for a new chapter. Let's get to work, Patrick Mouratoglou,” Halep said on Instagram.
“You know me as Serena Williams’ coach. Today I start a new chapter in my coaching career: I am Simona Halep’s full-time coach,” Mouratoglou wrote in a newsletter sent to his subscribers, as reported by Tennis Majors.
The longtime coach of Serena Williams has done his due diligence, clearing the way for a new partnership to begin with Halep only after meeting with Williams to discuss the pair’s future.
He flew to see the 23-time major champion after Indian Wells, a tournament that saw Halep reach the semifinals and compete well with Iga Swiatek before falling in straight sets.
“After this discussion, I knew that at least short-term I could start working as a coach with somebody else” Mouratoglou said.
Halep, who skipped Miami with a thigh injury, has also pulled out of Charleston and Fed Cup. On March 24, she said the injury would need three weeks to be right. She will begin ramping up with a strong performance on the clay in mind.
Mouratoglou told Tennis Majors’ Cédric Rouquette that he believes the Romanian is ready to prove she’s a champion once again.
“The goal is to probably one day stop her career thinking, ‘I’ve done the maximum of what I could have done'” Mouratoglou said. “She has been No 1, she has won Grand Slams. There is no reason why she couldn’t or she wouldn’t be able to do that again. She’s a champion. I also feel that she has a big margin for improvement in many aspects, and she’s still very hungry.”