Ultimate Tennis Showdown - Patrick Mouratoglou: I had to reject 'risky' Serena rules

Updated 12/06/2020 at 22:33 GMT

Patrick Mouratoglou has admitted he had to reject “risky” rule suggestions from Serena Williams for his upcoming Ultimate Tennis Showdown tournament.

Serena Williams of the United States and her coach Patrick Mouratoglou of the United States

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The Ultimate Tennis Showdown, which kicks off in France on Saturday and is being broadcast on Eurosport, will have three top-10 players from the men's ATP Tour in Stefanos Tsitsipas, Matteo Berrettini and David Goffin, joining seven others to compete in a round-robin format over five weeks.

Among the changes from the main tour, players will not face sanctions for emotional outbursts on court while fans will be able to question them during changeovers as they watch a livestream of matches.

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Mouratoglou, who is Williams’ long-time coach, said the 23-time Grand Slam singles champion had ideas which UTS could not use this time around, but may implement in the future.

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“Actually, Serena gave me one or two really good ideas when I first talked to her about it. It was details about the rules," he told a press conference ahead of the event.

Unfortunately, I cannot say [what they were] because we haven’t been able to put them in. They were a little risky technically… We’re starting with something more simple but hope to use them [in future].

Regarding the rule changes that will be seen in UTS, Mouratoglou added: “I wanted to speak to them [the players] individually and explain why we’re doing it.

"I wanted to know if they were into it and excited by this project. I think they’ve going to play a great role I want them to get really excited and enjoy it.

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“The reactions were really good. None of the players we were in touch with said they didn’t want to play. All the players we reached out to said yes apart from maybe one or two who said they weren’t ready.

“I think it’s fun to do something different. They do the same thing all year long. The feedback has been good. We’ve written down their [players’] ideas.”

Mouratoglou also weighed in on the US Open’s plans to start on August 31 after Novak Djokovic admitted he may consider skipping the Grand Slam amid restrictions due to the coronavirus outbreak.

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“I understand the USTA want to make it happen as financially they need it,” Mouratoglou said.

“I saw they had to fire a lot of people and it was really sad. I’m supporting the USTA but on the other hand I understand that some players don’t want to play if the conditions are too difficult – if they have to stay in the same hotel 24/7 for three weeks… not being able to move from there.

“I understand both sides. I understand that the USTA has to make the best for this tournament happen and I understand the players that don’t want to go.”