"Internet-famous coach" Mouratoglou repeatedly sparks controversy, with legends like Nadal personally responding.

Lately, the "internet-famous coach" Mouratoglou has shown a somewhat uninhibited attitude, as this coach who runs a tennis academy in France often voices his views on trending tennis issues, drawing broad interest.

Mouratoglou's initial topic was Zverev’s defeat in the Australian Open semifinals against a cramping Alcaraz. Many fans harshly criticized Zverev, accusing him of being "soft-hearted and weak-handed," missing another chance to win a Grand Slam title.

This time, Mouratoglou chose to defend Zverev, saying, "If you think Zverev can’t even beat a cramping Alcaraz, that’s a narrow-minded view. I believe everyone should open their minds and try to understand this sport better."

Mouratoglou further explained that Zverev slowed down because he didn’t want to make errors (as he was expecting his opponent to falter) yet also wanted to finish the rally. His fear of mistakes caused him to reduce his pace. Additionally, a cramping Alcaraz, unable to move freely, would attack aggressively every shot aiming to score, with almost no unforced errors, which only increased the pressure on Zverev.

To many, Mouratoglou seemed to be making excuses for Zverev, but such excuses may not really help Zverev learn from the experience or improve his skills and tactics.

Interestingly, Mouratoglou also supported Zverev’s earlier statement—that the current tennis competition level has surpassed the Big Three. After another Australian Open semifinal, the French coach said Djokovic’s win over Sinner does not prove that the overall strength of the "Big Three"—Federer, Nadal, and Djokovic—is superior to the new generation "twins" represented by Alcaraz and Sinner.

On social media, Mouratoglou stated, "Thinking Sinner is inferior to the Big Three just because Djokovic beat him at the Australian Open is a shortsighted opinion." This comment quickly sparked heated discussion, and even Nadal, who watched the Djokovic-Alcaraz final live, couldn't resist replying under Mouratoglou’s post with a series of emojis:

As one of the Big Three, Nadal’s reply was interpreted by netizens as a sign of disagreement with Mouratoglou’s viewpoint.

Besides Nadal, tennis legends Becker and Murray also did not agree with Mouratoglou’s opinion.

Coincidentally, Sinner himself addressed this topic before the Australian Open. On January 9th, at a pre-match press conference for an exhibition in Incheon, South Korea, Sinner said, "The competition between Carlos Alcaraz and me cannot be compared to the performance of the Big Three."

Mouratoglou’s third topic was reforming the women’s format. He recently proposed again that female players should play best-of-five sets in Grand Slam events, arguing this would prove the women’s capabilities and end controversies over equal prize money. He also pointed out that the French Open’s night sessions exclude women’s matches due to concerns that two-set quick matches affect viewer experience, which the best-of-five format could change.

In response, Australian Open tournament director Craig Tiley said the tournament plans to trial best-of-five sets for women starting from the quarterfinals in 2027, but this reform requires thorough discussions and negotiations with players.

Famous coach Gilbert and 2017 Australian and US Open semifinalist Vandeweghe both expressed support for Tiley’s proposal.

However, American female tennis player and 2022 Australian Open runner-up Collins strongly opposed the idea, saying it should be "flushed down the toilet," adding, "I think we cannot implement best-of-five; we must flush this idea away. Those matches are too long! What are we doing?"

Finally, my personal view on Mouratoglou: I disagree with him on the first two topics, but regarding changing the women’s Grand Slam matches to best-of-five from the quarterfinals onward, I think it’s worth trying to see how it works. Hopefully, the Australian Open can lead the way.

However, I suspect that switching women’s Grand Slam quarterfinals and beyond to best-of-five might reduce on-court competitiveness and slow down match pace, making the intensity and entertainment value lag behind men’s matches even more. If so, it might be better to keep the current best-of-three format.

Additionally, Mouratoglou is very popular both internationally and in China’s online communities, frequently posting short videos explaining technical moves. Honestly, his explanations might help amateur or lower-level players but may offer limited benefit to higher-level professionals. Mouratoglou frequently speaks out to attract traffic and maintain attention, which is why he is called an "internet-famous coach."(Source: Tennis Home, Author: Yun Juan Yun Shu)