ATP allows coaching during matches!
In the second half of the 2022 season, ATP tournaments will allow players to get tips from their coaches during a match. Under certain conditions.
by Jens Huiber
last edit: Jun 21, 2022, 04:53 pm
The times when Apostolos Tsitsipas was put in front of a supervisor who was able to speak Greek, as was the case at the Australian Open this year, could soon be over. At that time, Daniil Medvedev complained about too many constructive suggestions from his opponent Stefanos Tsitsipas' box. But that is exactly what the ATP will allow in ATP tournaments in the second half of 2022 - initially in a trial phase.
It can then also be coached during the matches. Under certain conditions:
- The coach must be in a designated seat.
- The coaching must not take place during an ongoing rally.
- Verbal coaching is only allowed when a coach's protégé is on the same page as his supervisor.
- However, non-verbal signals may always be sent.
- The coaching must be limited to brief instructions. No conversation is allowed with the player in question.
- If a player leaves the court, the coach is not allowed to contact him.
So much for the new rules of the game. Which immediately raise some exciting questions:
- Which of the long-established superstars will even make use of it? Is it conceivable that Rafael Nadal, who has made up his mind for his entire tennis life, will suddenly receive instructions from Carlos Moya?
- What happens when the situation escalates like it did on Sunday in HalleWestfalen's final, where Gilles Cervara, Daniil Medvedev's coach, left the court in the middle of the match in an argument with his player?
- And: How much will the viewers notice from the coaching? Because the ATP relied on "off-court coaching". At the WTA, the wired trainers ran onto the court before the corona pandemic. And the fans could follow the instructions acoustically.