What do you think?
Rate this book
The Coach
Patrick Mouratoglou; Serena Williams' coach; host of his own daily TV Show for Eurosport International, sports commentator on ESPN, founder and President of the Mouratoglou Tennis Academy and Resort and Philanthropist is the most followed coach on the "Tennisphere". The Coach is Patrick Mouratoglou's hugely motivational and inspirational story. As a child, he was full of suffering, enduring anxiety attacks at night. In his own words "puny and very timid, paralysed by the shame of not being able to do better". Now, as one of the world's leading tennis coaches he is responsible for transforming the career of Serena Williams and helping her become the greatest of all times. His story is a great example of trial over adversity.
177 pages, Kindle Edition
Published June 2, 2017
34 people are currently reading
251 people want to read
Ratings & Reviews
Friends & Following
Create a free account to discover what your friends think of this book!
Community Reviews
Displaying 1 - 20 of 20 reviews
May 12, 2022
"Motivational and Inspirational" my ass. This "book" is just a self-praise, narcissistic, hero-wannabe tale that is not even well written. It's not even about coaching: it's just Mouratoglou saying how good he is.
For starters, it has a lot of bullshit about how hard he fought and what he overcame, but neglects to consider how an upper-class and resourceful environment has actually helped him. He goes around "I got in a gang, with people carrying pistols and bla bla" and the solution was his parents sent him to pupil-like school. As someone who has coached a black female player, I would have expected a bit more of sensitivity on how priviledge he has been. Working in his father's company, having his family provide funding to start his business... jeez!
Now if that wasn't enough, he goes around claiming himself a savior to those who he' coached and throws parents under the bus with absolute no shame. He mentions players make no progress if he "leaves" them, as if he were a tennis god or magician. I see this guy making his own monument and saying people made it for him, he is almost delusional. He is one of the "end is justified by the means" kind, and claims that players that have put their mental health aren't brave enough. And if player's result are not what he expect, he would leave as he says that players should "enable him to realise his own goal".
For starters, it has a lot of bullshit about how hard he fought and what he overcame, but neglects to consider how an upper-class and resourceful environment has actually helped him. He goes around "I got in a gang, with people carrying pistols and bla bla" and the solution was his parents sent him to pupil-like school. As someone who has coached a black female player, I would have expected a bit more of sensitivity on how priviledge he has been. Working in his father's company, having his family provide funding to start his business... jeez!
Now if that wasn't enough, he goes around claiming himself a savior to those who he' coached and throws parents under the bus with absolute no shame. He mentions players make no progress if he "leaves" them, as if he were a tennis god or magician. I see this guy making his own monument and saying people made it for him, he is almost delusional. He is one of the "end is justified by the means" kind, and claims that players that have put their mental health aren't brave enough. And if player's result are not what he expect, he would leave as he says that players should "enable him to realise his own goal".
April 16, 2017
Patrick Mouratoglou, cel care o pregătește de ceva ani pe Serena Williams (timp în care ea a reușit să câștige multe Grand Slam-uri, alte turnee, plus o perioadă foarte mare pe locul 1), face aici o diferență majoră între antrenor (așa cum îl percepem noi și pe el) și coach, cel care se ocupă nu numai de pregătirea fizică și tactică, ci și de psihologie, statistici, studierea adversarilor. Dar, cel mai important, el mizează pe încrederea pe care trebuie să o inoculeze propriului jucător, care vine tocmai din cele spuse mai sus.
Desigur, Mouratoglou discută și despre viața sa, cariera din tenis (ca jucător, inexistentă din cauza părinților), despre academie și jucătorii antrenați înainte de Serena (Baghdadis, Dimitrov, Wickmayer etc.) O carte pentru pasionații de tenis.
Desigur, Mouratoglou discută și despre viața sa, cariera din tenis (ca jucător, inexistentă din cauza părinților), despre academie și jucătorii antrenați înainte de Serena (Baghdadis, Dimitrov, Wickmayer etc.) O carte pentru pasionații de tenis.
January 4, 2021
Great perspective on a unique coach. Good read for anyone aspiring to be an elite level coach. He has an all of nothing approach that won't work with everyone so I think it's definitely more for top level coaches. The translation is pretty bad tho. I will probably read again in French.
February 10, 2023
A book not only for tennis but mostly about how we face the challenges in life, achieve our goals and treat the people
February 24, 2024
Amusant et intéressant sur plusieurs points du "coaching" (indépendant du tennis), sans rentrer beaucoup dans le détail mais en s'appuyant sur plueirus anecdotes révélatrices.
- Plan de coaching : information (toutes informations sur l'adversaire, statistiques, etc.), plan de jeu tactique (exploiter ses forces et les faiblesses de l'adversaire), mise en condition mentale (mettre le joueur dans le bon état avec le juste équilibre entre stress et confiance.
- Toute vérité n'est pas bonne à dire : ce qui compte c'est uniquement la perception que le joueur a de la réalité)
- Comprendre l'élève et trouver le bon mode de communication (directif, sévère, compréhensif / proche, confiant). Difficulté aussi à trouver le bon niveau relationnel : proximité et affection fortes font grandir tant qu'on ne franchit pas la limite de l'intime
- Raconte son accompagnement de plusieurs joueurs qui avaient les capacités pour être parmi les tous meilleurs. Presque tous ont renoncé mentalement au moment où ils venaient de battre tous leurs records et d'atteindre leur meilleur niveau (souvent top 15-30), et n'ont pas voulu s'infliger la charge nécessaire pour se maintenir à ce niveau et monter plus haut. Seule exception : Serena Williams, toujours + faim de victoires et toujours + exigeante avec elle-même même après avoir gagné plusieurs GC à la suite...
- Plan de coaching : information (toutes informations sur l'adversaire, statistiques, etc.), plan de jeu tactique (exploiter ses forces et les faiblesses de l'adversaire), mise en condition mentale (mettre le joueur dans le bon état avec le juste équilibre entre stress et confiance.
- Toute vérité n'est pas bonne à dire : ce qui compte c'est uniquement la perception que le joueur a de la réalité)
- Comprendre l'élève et trouver le bon mode de communication (directif, sévère, compréhensif / proche, confiant). Difficulté aussi à trouver le bon niveau relationnel : proximité et affection fortes font grandir tant qu'on ne franchit pas la limite de l'intime
- Raconte son accompagnement de plusieurs joueurs qui avaient les capacités pour être parmi les tous meilleurs. Presque tous ont renoncé mentalement au moment où ils venaient de battre tous leurs records et d'atteindre leur meilleur niveau (souvent top 15-30), et n'ont pas voulu s'infliger la charge nécessaire pour se maintenir à ce niveau et monter plus haut. Seule exception : Serena Williams, toujours + faim de victoires et toujours + exigeante avec elle-même même après avoir gagné plusieurs GC à la suite...
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
May 10, 2018
Patrick shares his thoughts and believes. The story has some interesting aspects (mainly if you know a thing or two about tennis) but it is very poorly written. Probably due to that Patrick actually comes off quite unpleasent. I read half a year ago Andre Agassi's book and it was brilliant in so many levels - unfortunately The Coach doesn't stand a chance in comparison.
March 26, 2020
This books provides many brilliant insights into the craft of coaching. How incredibly difficult it is to always get the best out of people. It could be written a bit better. Sometimes it's little confusing, but definitely worth a read.
August 3, 2016
Un libro assolutamente inutile!!!
August 28, 2017
Great read on his background and his philosophy. Will read again to take a deeper look and better understanding of his mental approach and coaching philosophy.
January 1, 2018
He has a great story, and he is a super coach! However, the book was rather okay, but not great!
April 20, 2021
Excellent read.
Lots of places where I and many other people lighted. A true joy to go through the journey mentally. I couldn’t put it down.
Lots of places where I and many other people lighted. A true joy to go through the journey mentally. I couldn’t put it down.
December 30, 2025
The Greek edition comes with the subtitle “How tennis can change your life”, which I found misleading since it's not only talking about tennis. Actually, its main issue is that it lacks of clear direction: is it self-help, autobiography or a tennis strategy guide?
While I appreciate Patrick Mouratoglou's videos on social media and can appreciate certain qualities of his as a coach, the book feels overwhelmingly self-referential. His central narrative revolves around winning a Grand Slam as a coach. Several collaborations with well-known players like Marcos Bagdhatis, Nastia Pavlyuchenkova & Grigor Dimitrov who did not serve that goal were eventually abandoned, until he partnered with the already established Grand Slam champion Serena (and one of the most successful players in tennis history) in order to achieve his goal.
Beyond a few interesting tennis insights for those who follow the sport, and some broadly inspirational statements, the book ultimately has little else to offer. It may resonate with readers who admire Mouratoglou’s mindset or share a similar vision of success, but for others it risks reading more like a personal justification than a meaningful exploration of coaching, growth, or purpose.
While I appreciate Patrick Mouratoglou's videos on social media and can appreciate certain qualities of his as a coach, the book feels overwhelmingly self-referential. His central narrative revolves around winning a Grand Slam as a coach. Several collaborations with well-known players like Marcos Bagdhatis, Nastia Pavlyuchenkova & Grigor Dimitrov who did not serve that goal were eventually abandoned, until he partnered with the already established Grand Slam champion Serena (and one of the most successful players in tennis history) in order to achieve his goal.
Beyond a few interesting tennis insights for those who follow the sport, and some broadly inspirational statements, the book ultimately has little else to offer. It may resonate with readers who admire Mouratoglou’s mindset or share a similar vision of success, but for others it risks reading more like a personal justification than a meaningful exploration of coaching, growth, or purpose.
November 9, 2022
Ως λάτρης και αθλήτρια του τένις έπρεπε να διαβάσω το συγκεκριμένο βιβλίο και χαίρομαι που το έκανα. Το κομμάτι του προπονητή είναι αν οχι το 70% είναι τουλάχιστον το 50% στο άθλημα αυτό. Οι αθλητές του τέννις πρέπει να έχουν αυτοπεποίθηση και εδω παίζει ρόλο ο προπονητής. Το άθλημα αυτό σου μαθαίνει να μην τα παρατάς μέχρι να ολοκληρωθεί ο στόχος σου όσα εμπόδια και να βρεθούν στο δρόμο. Ένας προπονητής πρέπει να επικοινωνεί σωστά με τον αθλητή του ώστε να υπάρξει ενα καλό αποτέλεσμα. Ο συγκεκριμένος προπονητής σου μαθαίνει οτι όσα εμπόδια και να βρεθούν στο δρόμο σου μην ξεχνάς ποιος είσαι και ποιος ειναι ο στόχος σου. Μπορεί να πέσεις και δεν ειναι κακό, κακο ειναι να μείνεις κατω , όχι πρέπει να σηκωθείς και να προσπαθήσεις ξανά. Η ζωή του και ο τρόπος που αντιμετωπίζει μια κατάσταση με έκανε να μάθω τι ειναι πείσμα με την καλη έννοια και ότι μπορώ να γίνω καλύτερη σε οποιαδήποτε τομέα αρκεί να δουλεύω καθημερινά. Πιστεύω οτι αυτο το βιβλίο θα σε βοηθήσει να γίνεις καλύτερος αθλητής στο τέννις γιατί δεν χρειάζεται να ξέρεις απλα καλα τις κινήσεις πρέπει να έχεις τη σωστή ψυχολογία, να αντιμετωπίζεις τις ήττες ως μάθημα για τον επόμενο αγώνα.
August 22, 2017
I read the soft cover edition.
I believe they put the original french text though Google translate ?? the result was messy awkward and reads (in English) as awkward and poorly written.
I seriously doubt this is the case just a translation issue.
So even in its weird grammar and language state (esp if you play tennis) the point comes through
But shame on publishers and editors- someone did NOT do their job.
I believe they put the original french text though Google translate ?? the result was messy awkward and reads (in English) as awkward and poorly written.
I seriously doubt this is the case just a translation issue.
So even in its weird grammar and language state (esp if you play tennis) the point comes through
But shame on publishers and editors- someone did NOT do their job.
October 8, 2022
Ως λάτρης του αθλήματος αποφάσισα να διαβάσω το συγκεκριμένο βιβλίο καθώς ο Πατρίκ είναι ένας σπουδαίος κοουτς …το περίμενα αρκετά καλύτερο , σίγουρα έχει κάποιο ενδιαφέρον αλλά θα έλεγα πως είναι ένα αυτοβιογραφικό βιβλίο που περιγράφει την καριέρα του μέχρι σήμερα , χωρίς να εμβαθύνει σε στοιχεία που έχουν σημασία για τον κοουτς η τον παίκτη, την ψυχολογία τους κλπ
May 29, 2022
Strong coaching development story. Poor writing skills
April 7, 2025
Quick and easy read. Not that insightful as I got the sense instead of helping us understand him he was trying to impress us
January 29, 2021
Onestamente mi aspettavo di più.
November 5, 2015
super interesting, what an unusual life !
January 30, 2026
cut the cap patrick,
some good technical points though
some good technical points though
Displaying 1 - 20 of 20 reviews