Maria Sharapova and Serena Williams - Tennis News (Photo : Getty Image)
Patrick Mouratoglou believes Serena Williams could still play top-notch tennis over the next five years, only if the WTA allows the aging American tennis legend to cut the number of tournaments she's required to participate a year.
In an exclusive interview with Le'quipe (translated byMark Nixon) , Mouratoglou discussed how Williams can still compete for the next 4 to 5 years without a significant drop-off in her current form. The French tennis guru believes cutting the workload for Williams would be vital to keep her in tip-top shape despite her advanced age.
"Potentially, she could play for other five years. But maybe not at that pace. Her calendar would need to be very carefully managed. If the desire is there, and there are no major injuries - the two things that could make her retire - she could keep going for another five years."
On the other hand, Mouratoglou believes it would take a special exemption from the WTA for Williams to log more years in the tour.
"The WTA can't, on one hand, limit the number of tournaments for young players because it's not good for their health, and then ask thirty-five year old players to play X number of tournaments a year. It's unintelligible. She can't play fifteen tournaments."
With Maria Sharapova potentially serving a lengthy ban (reportedly up to 4 years) for his use of prohibited substance, Mouratoglou stressed WTA is now left with one legit star, and that's the 34-year old Williams. In short, assuring Williams' participation in big tournaments such as the four Grand Slams would be vital for WTA and women's tennis as a whole.
"It's a big blow, but not because she tested positive, because it's actually reassuring when a star gets caught. It's a blow because there are only two women on the women's tour who fill stadiums: Sharapova and Serena. It's obvious that a women's tour without Sharapova and without Serena isn't the same. But I don't think it stains the image of women's tennis. On the contrary."
