The debate between men’s and women’s tennis never really goes away. Are they equal? Should they be treated the same? At Roland Garros this year, French Open tournament director Amélie Mauresmo faced repeated questions about why not a single women’s match featured in the night sessions. Then came Wimbledon, where a 57-minute women’s final reignited talk around five-set matches. In the middle of all this, Serena Williams’ former coach stepped in with a take that cuts through the noise.
Back in 2013, Andy Murray floated the idea of facing the 23-time Grand Slam champion in an exhibition match. “I’ve never hit with her but she’s obviously an incredible player. It’s happened in the past with Jimmy Connors and Martina Navratilova. How about Las Vegas as a venue?” Murray said.
That plan didn’t get very far. Serena squashed it on The Late Show with David Letterman, saying, “Actually it’s funny, because Andy Murray, he’s been joking about myself and him playing a match. I’m like, ‘Andy, seriously, are you kidding me?’ For me, men’s tennis and women’s tennis are completely, almost, two separate sports. If I were to play Andy Murray, I would lose 6-0, 6-0 in five to six minutes, maybe 10 minutes. No, it’s true. It’s a completely different sport. The men are a lot faster and they serve harder, they hit harder, it’s just a different game.”
Years later, her ex-coach Patrick Mouratoglou backed her statement with his own take. In an Instagram clip, he said, “That’s true, mainly for one reason: It’s the fact that men are so much faster than women, movement-wise. Serena is talking about the power of men but Serena was hitting with guys. When I was coaching her, she played many times with Grigor Dimitrov, (Stefanos) Tsitsipas. There was 0 problems. Hitting from the centre of the court, hitting crosscourt. No problem. They were impressed. When the movement was involved, then it was different and this I agree with her.”
Still, Mouratoglou isn’t done with the idea just yet. He hinted at a possible solution to close the gap between the two games. “We had the idea for Serena to play a match against Andy Murray and then we had an idea on how to reduce the difference between men and women to make this match extremely competitive. I am not saying what because I want to do it one day.”
That exhibition match could still be a showstopper. Fans have loved watching Serena and Murray team up in mixed doubles, and their chemistry on court is already proven.
Off court, there’s even more respect. Serena Williams has always appreciated Murray’s advocacy for women in tennis. In fact, she once thanked him publicly for it.
When Serena Williams thanked Andy Murray for speaking out for women
Andy Murray’s track record speaks for itself. In 2014, he hired Amélie Mauresmo as his coach, making headlines for that bold move. He didn’t stop there. At a press conference in 2017, a reporter said Sam Querrey was “the first US player to reach a major semi-final since 2009.” Murray quickly corrected him with a simple but sharp “male player,” reminding everyone of Serena and Venus Williams’ dominance.
And when the three-time Grand Slam champion retired following his appearance at the 2024 Paris Olympics, tributes rolled in. Serena Williams’ note was heartfelt. She said, “I’m just so grateful that I had that experience and I also hold a special place in my heart to you because you always speak out so much for women and everything that women deserve. You were the leader in that and the things you said about myself and Venus, so many things about how we were always so inspiring and what we meant to you, it really went such a long way in my heart.”
Now, with both of them retired, maybe it’s time to make that match happen. And this time, Mouratoglou might just bring his secret plan to life. Who wouldn’t want one last mixed-gender tennis showdown?
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