"Carlos Alcaraz doesn't carry a candle to Serena Williams and Maria Sharapova" - Fans furious with Naomi Osaka's coach over shocking 'superstar' claim

Serena Williams' former coach, Patrick Mouratoglou, recently shared his thoughts on the popularity of women's tennis whilst defending French Open organizers for their failure to schedule any women's singles matches in the night session at Court Philippe-Chatrier thus far. The Frenchman's remarks, however, have since been put on blast by the tennis community.

Tournament director Amelie Mauresmo has invited plenty of controversy in Paris this fortnight with her decision to put only men's singles matches in the Philippe Chatrier's night session from Day 1 to Day 11 of the claycourt Major. Mouratoglou offered an impassioned defense of Mauresmo from her detractors, claiming in a local media interaction that even Iga Swiatek, a four-time French Open titlist and one of the best pros that the WTA Tour, wanes in front of past legends like Serena Williams and Maria Sharapova when it comes to being a "star".

"I think we’re in a period in women’s tennis where there are no major stars. Back when there were Sharapova, Serena, and others, there were very, very big stars—people with monumental popularity who were known worldwide. I think, for Swiatek, that’s not the case," Serena Williams' ex-coach Patrick Mouratoglou said via France Télévisions a few days ago (translated from French).

"It's not only about leading players like Iga Swiatek, who is a four-time winner, and a three-time winner at the moment. She's not a superstar like Serena when she was playing or Sharapova when she was playing," he said in another statement.

Many fans on X (formerly Twitter) have taken exception with Patrick Mouratoglou's opinion on women's tennis, with one going as far as to suggest that very few active players can measure up to the iconic Williams and Sharapova.

"And im supposed to believe Ben Shelton is on the same star power as serena and sharapova????? Even Carlos doesn’t even carry a f***ing candle to them like is he f***ing stupid," the fan wrote on X.

Another fan, meanwhile, defended women's tennis, arguing that they are better than their male counterparts in various departments of the game.

"Can somebody tell him to shut up? All women's seeds are more consistent than whatever on Earth goes on in ATP. Also, we don't have known abusers hogging limelight here. We have stars, you're just blinded by your thinking," they insisted.

Some fans questioned why had Naomi Osaka employed the Frenchman as her coach.

"Ffs he coaches a WTA player who is a huge star," one fan asserted.

"A WTA player has this individual as a coach btw," another claimed.

"Naochii sure knows how to pick the men around her…" one more insisted.

Here are a few more reactions from social media:

"And if we say these people are misogynists we're too much and are overreacting. Why is this man working with a woman tennis player atm then??" one fan claimed.

"Novak is the only one on either tour with the same level as them so genuinely what’s the logic here??????" another insisted.

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Serena Williams' coach Patrick Mouratoglou: "Amelie Mauresmo has responsibilities as a tournament director to make sure the fans are happy"

Serena Williams practices with Patrick Mouratoglou at French Open 2021 | Image Source: Getty

During the media interaction in Paris, Patrick Mouratoglou had also claimed that Amelie Mauresmo's role as the French Open director demanded that she took the best business-related decisions.

"There are a lot of positive things about treating women equally, but Amelie Mauresmo has responsibilities as a tournament director to make sure the fans are happy and the tournament makes the expected money," Mouratoglou said.

For those unaware, Patrick Mouratoglou guided Serena Williams to 10 Major titles during their tenure as coach-ward in 2012-2021. The 54-year-old recently became former World No. 1 Naomi Osaka's head coach as the Japanese star looks to make her return to the highest echelon of women's singles tennis.