The most famous tennis coaching legend has been operating for a few decades in Florida: it’s Nick Bollettieri and his renowned academy* that has consistently produced world-famous champions! But why can’t what is done in the United States be replicated in our country, Patrick Mouratoglou, coach of the world No. 1, Serena Williams, must have wondered?
Yesterday, Patrick Mouratoglou laid the foundation stone for his tennis academy within the Sophia-Antipolis technology park – in the commune of Biot (Alpes-Maritimes) – which is scheduled for completion in July 2016.
The investment by the Eren group (from the same Mouratoglou family) is part of the follow-up to the acquisition of the Sophia Country Club, a quality hotel structure that will undergo significant expansion.
In January 2014, Patrick Mouratoglou announced the relocation of the tennis academy he headed in Thiverval-Grignon, in Yvelines, to the Côte d’Azur. To establish it, he partnered with another coach, Charles Auffray, already on site with his own tennis school, ISP, who became the general manager of the new “Mouratoglou Tennis Academy,” aiming to become No. 1 in Europe.
Ultimately, it will include 26 outdoor tennis courts, including a clay central court, eight indoor courts, an athletics track, several swimming pools, a spa, a fitness center, and a medical center.
The boarding school, intended for young athletes studying on site, will accommodate 150 students year-round and 300 in the summer, with annual tuition fees around 35,000 euros.
Patrick Mouratoglou can boast that his students have achieved three junior world champion titles and twelve junior Grand Slam finals. In addition to Serena Williams, he has also coached Jérémy Chardy, Cypriot Marcos Baghdatis, and Bulgarian Grigor Dimitrov.
