Patrick Mouratoglou Talks About the "Fights" with Serena Williams Over Weight After Her First Pregnancy
Patrick Mouratoglou reveals he advised Serena Williams to drop some weight due to tennis reasons after her first pregnancy, and admits that one didn't sit pretty well with the American tennis legend and led to "a few fights."
After winning her 23rd Grand Slam title at the 2017 Australian Open while a few weeks pregnant, Williams didn't play again until 2018 March. It didn't long for the American to find great form again, but she surprisingly lost back-to-back Slam finals at Wimbledon (Angelique Kerber) and the US Open (Naomi Osaka). She made another two Major finals before retiring (2019 Wimbledon and 2019 US Open), but never again won a Grand Slam title.
Mouratoglou, who started working with Williams in mid-2012, won 10 Grand Slams with the American through the next five years.
In an interview with Yahoo! Sports, Mouratoglou shared that he told Williams she should lose some weight after giving birth - not because he had something against her looks - but because it could negatively impact her mobility and things required for her to be at the very best.
Mouratoglou: Williams didn't like when I said that, she thought I was judging her...
"In Serena’s case, she was older – so of course the body is not going to bounce back the same as before, and the risk of injury is even bigger. We had a few fights about it. I remember she did not like when I said that because she thought I was judging her. But I kept telling her, I don’t care about your look. It’s not my job. My job is your tennis. If you want to come back to the top and make history, then we have to be very efficient on every level – including this one, which for me was the key element," the French coach added.
Recently, Williams revealed that she uses a weight loss medication and that she dropped 31 pounds or 14 kilograms. Asked if he would have preferred to have this version of the American six years ago, Mouratoglou said he "has no regrets" but also added that her results "would have been better."
This Lightning Alumni couldn’t stay away from Tampa Bay; It was something special that drew him back
Former Tampa Bay Lightning left wing Patrick Maroon is rejoining the oganization in a role that describes perfectly how much the Tampa community means to him and his family.
Over the course of his 14-year career in the National Hockey League, Pat Maroon skated for eight teams, including the Anaheim Ducks (2011-2016) Edmonton Oilers (2015-2018), New Jersey Devils (2017-18), St. Louis Blues (2018-19), Tampa Bay Lightning (2019-2023), Minnesota Wild (2023-24), Boston Bruins (2023-24), and he ended his career with the Chicago Blackhawks (2024-25) announcing his retirement at the end of the 2024-25 season.
But of the eight teams he played for, one community stuck out the most, and it’s why he couldn’t stay away from Tampa Bay, FL.
“I just think the community and the people that work around us are really, really good people,” he stated. “And I get along with everyone. It just made the most sense for me and my family, So I’m really excited to be back.”
The Tampa Bay Lightning on Wednesday announced that they have hired Maroon to re-join the organization as a full-time team ambassador where he will work closely on community appearances in the greater Tampa Bay area, along with growing the game of hockey throughout the town, and other areas the Lightning assign him to as well. He will also work as an analyst for the team’s television broadcast.
As mentioned above, Maroon was with the Lightning from 2019-2023. Over the course of that time, he helped lead the Lightning to back-to-back Stanley Cup Championships. Through 280 games on the ice for Tampa, he scored 29 goals, had 53 assists, and accumulated 82 points.
And while he had great stats on ice, one of the other moments he’ll never forget about Tampa Bay was the birth of his daughter, a big reason why he now chooses to calm Tampa Bay home once again.
“My daughter was born here, she loves it here,” said Maroon. “My son Anthony loves It here and loves coming down to be here with and live with us during the summer months, and I think it just made sense for us,” he reiterated. “It’s a great opportunity and I’m really excited to work for the Lightning and just kind of see where this goes.”
As an ambassador for the team, Maroon will spend a great deal of time working with the fans in the community. The Lightning have always been an organization that prides themselves on being a community-first team who always finds a way to be at most events and to engage with the community as much as possible. Maroon noted that was one of things he loves most about Tampa Bay and gives him excitement around this role.
While he said this first season will be hard not being not being on the ice, he reiterated his excitement for the opportunity to remain around the game he loves in this capacity with the Lightning organization.
