They're Not Tennis Fans, But They Know Serena" – Mouratoglou Reiterates His Stance on the Lack of Stars in Current Women's Tennis
During the Roland-Garros fortnight, Patrick Mouratoglou made headlines on France TV by arguing that women's tennis currently lacks star power.
This viewpoint surprised Alizé Cornet, who was working as a commentator. A few days after this controversial statement, Mouratoglou defended himself on his Instagram account:
"There’s a real difference between being one of the best players, playing incredible tennis, and being a star. I explained that, at the moment, women’s tennis is missing superstars. There is one star, Coco Gauff, because her aura is bigger than the others. I’m not saying there won’t be stars in the future.
I said there have been huge superstars in women’s tennis, like Serena, Venus, and Sharapova. This is something that can also happen in men’s tennis. Between the Agassi-Sampras era and the Roger-Rafa era, there were no superstars at that level. So when I say this, it’s not against women’s tennis. The market decides this.
When Serena played her first US Open, tickets for the women’s final sold out faster than the men’s final. Superstars fill stadiums. They also have an aura beyond the court.
Take a taxi and ask the driver: 'Do you follow tennis? No, I’m not a fan. Who do you know?' 90% of the time, if I ask which female players they know, they’ll say: 'Serena.' For the men, Rafa. Their names go beyond tennis. These people aren’t tennis fans, but they know Serena. Everyone knows her.
