Nigerian tennis prodigy, Marylove Edwards, has shared some details of her visit to Paris, France, where she met with Patrick Mouratoglou, Serena Williams’s trainer.
The Nigerian youngster spend some days with the world renown coach and she still relishes the moment as she glowed up when asked about her experience.
In a brief chat at the Lagos Lawn Tennis Club, Onikan, where she had gone, with her father, to see action at the recently concluded Sapetro Futures Tennis Championship, the top junior star told Nigeria Tennis Live what Mr. Mouratoglou told her about her game.
On the entire experience, she said: “It was amazing being in Europe for the first time. Amazing city, I met with one of the best coaches in the world who’s coaching Serena Williams, it was a great experience.
“Had some practice with him, played a couple of matches too. It was interesting.”
Asked what the respected trainer told her after her practice session, she replied: “He said there wasn’t much. He said I was a very aggressive player which will help me move forward because that is what tennis now requires with this modern age.
“He said that (being aggressive) will help me so much, and that he saw that with my game.”
Even though she missed out on training with Serena Williams whom she had met before, Edwards says there will be other opportunities to meet with the superstar.
“It’s not only Serena Williams that I want to meet. I want to meet Coco Gauf as well as Emma (who recently won the US Open),” the Lagos-based player noted.
With a teenager winning the US Open, one would have expected Edwards to have thoughts running through her mind.
When she was asked if this was the case, the doublehanded backhand player responded thus: “Nothing was really going through my mind. It’s amazing to see an 18-year-old win a major tournament which further gave me hope.
“For her, she’s from Britain which (sort of) makes it easier for her rather than we Africans who have to go through longer routes.
“So, no hopes lost. I still have some time ahead of me. They say ‘don’t run faster than your shadow’, so, I’m taking my time.”