The central point of Mouratoglou’s speech was the journey from a simple dream to an idea, then to a project and precise objectives. He believes that all good things start with a dream.
But for it to go beyond the dream stage – for the dream to actually come true – it must become an idea. “That’s how it becomes more real, even if it’s not always something that can take shape. However, sometimes that idea turns into a project, and the project leads to goals, to objectives. Many of us dream, not all of us reach a concrete idea, and only a few get to the stage of having a project and precise goals. It’s interesting to see the difference between those who just dream and those who bring their projects to life.”
To reach the project stage, Patrick Mouratoglou believes that, first of all, you must believe in your dream – believe that it can become a reality. “If you don’t believe in it, the dream will remain just a dream. You must have the conviction that your dream can come true. Why? Because the process involves suffering; failing is very painful because you care so much. If you give it your all and don’t succeed, it’s very painful. So, to start, you need confidence, the belief that it’s possible. If you don’t have that, you won’t risk suffering. Or you need a lot of courage: even if you don’t have much confidence in the project’s success, courage can help you start. If you have both – confidence and courage – you have a good chance of succeeding,” Patrick explains.
“That’s my job: to make people believe in themselves and their dreams. To make them believe that their dream is possible. And then they have a better chance of starting and giving 100%. That’s very important. Because if you look at the players on tour, most of them don’t really try. They try, but they don’t give everything (for their dream, idea, project, and objectives). So my first goal is to make the people I work with believe they can achieve their goals. It’s the first, the most important, and the most difficult thing in my profession. Only then can I help them have a plan and set their goals.”
“We can’t rush into giving advice”
“Coaching is about knowing when to listen, to create a good connection with the person you want to help; to give them the opportunity to connect with their own emotions – to express them in their own way and start over,” the Frenchman concludes.
How does he do all that? How does he help his players build confidence, how does he give them space to express themselves in their own way?
First of all, you can’t skip steps, he says. “We can’t rush into giving advice. Even if the advice is good, the first step is connecting with the other person; understanding that they are different. It takes days, weeks, maybe even months before you can say you understand someone, even to some extent.”
So it’s important for a coach not to apply the same formula every time because every situation is different, every player is different.
“You can’t have a relationship with a player if they don’t listen to you. That’s the thing I hear the most: this player doesn’t listen, they’re impossible to work with. But maybe if they don’t listen, it’s because you haven’t made yourself heard,” he emphasizes.
With this in mind, Mouratoglou believes that a coach should always start with the idea that they know nothing. That everything they’ve learned from working with other players doesn’t necessarily apply to the next one.
“I know we all have a different perspective on what life really means. I believe we are incredibly lucky to be on this planet and to have a life. I think we should give back to life what life gives us and have the best possible life. What does that mean? If you have a dream and you do the things that matter most to you, if you do all that, you make the people around you happier. If you’re unhappy, if you do things you don’t want to do, if you live a miserable life, you won’t make the people around you happy. If we all make two or three people around us happy, the whole planet will be a better place,” Mouratoglou concluded.
How would he describe Simona?
“I would say she’s generous, first of all. She’s incredibly generous in everything she does. She gives everything 100%. She’s not only generous with people but also with effort, no matter what kind of effort we’re talking about. She simply can’t do things halfway. Then, she’s also defined by courage. And resilience, but the two go hand in hand and define her as a person.”
How he started working with Simona
“As you probably know, I worked with Serena for the past 10 years, which is a long time. And Serena hadn’t played for a while; she stopped after Wimbledon last year. For eight months, I didn’t coach, and honestly, I didn’t think I would ever coach again. I thought I was done, that I was finished with it.
I had done this for a long time, and I know that my main quality is my enthusiasm. I believe that if I don’t have that, I’m not a good coach. And I thought I had lost my enthusiasm.
I told those close to me that Serena would probably be my last player. And then this lady appeared. She came to my academy, we had lunch, and we had a great connection. I went to watch 15 minutes of her training, and I really liked it. I just watched. The next day, I went back, watched a bit more, and liked it even more. On the third day, I picked up a racket and told her a few things. And I felt incredible emotions being on the court with her. I thought, ‘Wow, I’m not done with this at all.’ And I told her, ‘Thank you, because thanks to you, I love again the job I love so much, and I thought I didn’t love it anymore.’”
