“Coco Gauff, Carlos Alcaraz had crazy pressure” – Serena Williams’ ex-coach opens up on painful reality of young tennis players

Coco Gauff, Carlos Alcaraz, and Patrick Mouratoglou – Source: getty

Coco Gauff’s and Carlos Alcaraz’s careers were discussed by Serena Williams’ ex-coach, Patrick Mouratoglou, in a recent interview. Both young athletes are currently gearing up for the upcoming events of the 2025 season.

Gauff was last seen in action at Wimbledon, which did not pan out as expected, as she fell short of advancing further than the first round of the tournament. She was overwhelmed by Dayana Yastremska, who progressed to another round with a score of 7-6(7), 6-1. On the other hand, Alcaraz delivered a stunning performance at the tournament and reached the finals in the pursuit of claiming his third consecutive title. However, his opponent got the better of him and lifted the trophy with a score of 4-6, 6-4, 6-4, 6-4.

Shortly after these matches, Williams’ former coach, Mouratoglou, sat for an interview where he opened up about the painful reality of young tennis players, including Gauff and Alcaraz. He shared a clip of the interview on his Instagram handle, where he stated that both athletes have experienced immense pressure at a young age.

“Young players are exposed to huge amount of pressure because of the social media. Louis Enrique said that he was surprised by the fact that the young players were able to deal with pressure that well during the final of the Champions League, but also in the matches before. I totally also agree with that. I think those players, young like Alcaraz had so much pressure from a young age,” said Mouratoglou.

He added:

“Coco Gauff had crazy pressure from a young age. You know it either destroys you or makes you stronger and gives you more ability to fight pressure. When you have to deal with pressure very young and you haven’t achieved anything big yet, the pressure is really tough.”

Ahead of competing at Wimbledon, Gauff delivered a stunning performance at the French Open and claimed the second Grand Slam title of her career.

“I definitely was struggling in the locker room” – Coco Gauff opens up on her heartbreaking Wimbledon exit

After experiencing an upsetting early exit at Wimbledon against Dayana Yastremska, Coco Gauff sat for a conversation in a press conference, where she fielded questions surrounding the ins and outs of her loss. She stated that she was trying to be positive; however, she struggled in the locker room after the match.

Revealing that she does not like losing, Gauff said:

“I’m trying to be positive. After the match I definitely was struggling in the locker room. I don’t like losing. I know my team is gonna tell me ‘you did well at Roland Garros. Don’t be so upset.’ But I don’t really like losing.”

Coco Gauff bagged her first Grand Slam singles title at the 2023 US Open after defeating Aryna Sabalenka in the tournament’s final. Earlier, Gauff had also made it to the final of the 2022 French Open, but came up short against Iga Swiatek, who denied her a maiden Grand Slam title.