Patrick Mouratoglou's claim he tried to coach Serena Williams during the US Open final has been refuted by the 23-time grand slam champion.
Umpire Carlos Ramos had given Williams a code violation for coaching, which prompted a furious response from the American, who would later incur a further two penalties for racket abuse and verbal abuse in her 6-2 6-4 loss to Naomi Osaka.
Williams repeatedly denied receiving coaching, yet Mouratoglou later confirmed he had attempted to send her signals but that he did not think they were seen.
However, Williams said she is baffled by her coach's revelation.
"I just don't understand what he was talking about because I asked him, 'What are you talking about?' You weren't coaching, we don't have signals, we've never had signals and he said he made a motion," she told the Sunday Project.
"So, you said you made a motion, now you told people that you're coaching me. That doesn't make sense, why would you say that?
"We've never had this before. I was on the other side, I didn't see the motion. It was just a really confusing moment for him."
Williams had suggested she was treated more harshly than her male counterparts, a notion former tennis great Billie Jean King agreed with when she claimed the controversy surrounding the incident was the result of a "double standard".
Williams, who would have equalled Margaret Court's record with a 24th grand slam title had she won at Flushing Meadows, added that she was keen to move on from the incidents.
She said: "Even a man, if you want to express yourself in a way where you're not using profanity or you're just being yourself, and you're at this moment where you've worked for since you were three years old and you're on the cusp of this amazing moment...your female you should be able to do even half of what a guy can do.
"I feel like right now we are not, as it's proven, in that same position. But that's neither here nor there. I'm just trying to recover from that and move on."
