TENNIS – EXPLORING THE ON-COURT COACHING DEBATE

What makes Grand Slam and ATP Tour singles tennis so compelling and unique is that the winner of a match has to solely find the intestinal fortitude required to make the difference during a competitive battle of wills and physiological might.  No coaches are allowed to help the players during majors matches.  In order to win, players must use their skills, experience, talent and guts (all on their own) to beat their opponent.

As a rabid fan of tennis, I am not in favor of this changing anytime soon.  I don’t think on-court coaching should be allowed in any respect. It threatens the integrity of the sport and damages the heart and soul of what makes singles tennis so special.  In fact, I feel the women’s tour (WTA) should reverse its 2009 policy allowing on-court coaching during non-major tournaments.  It’s only during Grand Slams that in-match interaction with coaches and players is prohibited for the ladies.  The men’s tour (ATP) does not allow it at any time.

But, WTA CEO Steve Simon doesn’t see it that way.  After the 2018 US Open Final when Serena Williams famously received a coaching violation (for an illegal hand signal from her coach), Simon doubled-down on his intention to fight for on-court coaching (across the sport) during every match.

Since his appointment to WTA Chair in 2015, Simon has voiced his desire to keep this change going for the women’s tour citing the “great personalities among the coaches could be good for our sport” and it’s being done anyway from the stands.  He’s said, “The fact is there is coaching. They all have coaches, and that’s been the question for years; are they coaching from the box or aren’t they?  I think coaching is something the sport needs to embrace, it’s part of the story.”

So, because it could be more compelling to see different coaching “personalities” on air, we should weaken the warrior mentality of tennis?

And, because it’s being done anyway, we should just allow in-match coaching across the board?

What if players grow to become dependent on coaching in between sets?  If something goes wrong, will they wait for their coach to tell them the problem instead of figuring it out themselves in real time?  Raemon Sluiter, a former ATP player who coaches Kiki Bertens recently reinforced this concern, “I think a lot of times when the coaches come on court, they are not necessarily used as a help line but more as an ambulance… I would like the girls to solve the puzzle themselves even more. I think they are fully capable of it. I think with the on-court coaching we are slowing down that process just a little bit.”

Sascha Bajin, coach of this year’s US Open winner Naomi Osaka even thinks it can be detrimental. He’s said, “I think that’s something beautiful about this sport, that it’s really only you and to find a problem, to be a good problem-solver. If you look at the best tennis players, they are good problem-solvers on-court and off-court. My opinion is I definitely don’t want [more on-court coaching].”

What about players who can’t afford the best coaches?  Like the great Roger Federer said recently, it would be unfair for those lacking proper funds for elite guidance.  I agree with him.  It seems that the richer, more accomplished players would have an advantage when on-court coaching is allowed.

Serena Williams’ coach Patrick Mouratoglou said in a lengthy October statement that he feels “Authorizing coaching in competition and actually staging it so that the viewers can enjoy it as a show would ensure that it remains pivotal in the sport.  I’m proud to be a coach and I wish this job… was duly recognized.”

Is he saying that he thinks acknowledgement of his talents should trump the integrity of the sport?  If so, that seems pretty egotistical.  I think he just wants more recognition for Serena’s accomplishments and yearns to be on the center stage along with his high-profile client.  He’s not the athlete who swings the racket.  He provides important advice and tutelage, but asking for more spotlight seems disingenuous to me.

Mouratoglou also mentions the fact that tennis is the “only sport where coaching isn’t front and center”.  Football, basketball, boxing, cycling and even golfing lets their athletes receive regular guidance, he said.  So what?  Again, an individual not being coached while playing tennis is the special quality of the sport.  I have more respect for Serena Williams knowing that she did not have any help during her 39 Grand Slam wins.  It just reinforces her legacy as the “G.O.A.T” in the tennis world.

Mouratoglou went on to say that he thinks adding on-court coaching for all matches would help “increase the quality of the sporting show and resolves a lot of issues our sport is facing.”  He alluded to the matter of attracting a “modern, younger audience” to this “complex” sport.  So, he feels that young people are too dumb to figure out the essence of tennis competition and need to “[see and hear] the coaches and players… bring out their personalities” to be interested?

What does that say about the current fans who think it’s fine the way it is? I don’t need to see him coaching Serena to be interested in her.  She’s a great athlete who doesn’t need his help during majors matches to win.  She’s proven that at least 39 times in her career so far.

Additionally, I already do realize that Mouratoglou has helped Serena win 10 of her 23 single titles, garner a 92 percent winning percentage (compared to 83 percent with her father Richard Williams as coach) and spend 85 percent of her time at No. 1 (compared to 16 percent with Mr. Williams).  Clearly, he has had a lasting impact on the second half of Serena’s career and his contributions have been crucial to her achieving great milestones.  But, I don’t need to see him on the court to grasp his importance to her career.

Finally, Mouratoglou wrapped up his diatribe with discussing the “hypocrisy” in the sport of tennis involving coaching. Like Simon had said, he is aware that coaching already occurs in majors and everybody’s “discretely” doing it.  He reasoned that we should allow it in officially instead of punishing the players when they get caught.

I find this portion of Mouratoglou’s statement shameless.  He got caught giving Serena illegal hand signals at the US Open.  It hurt her significantly during that match when it added to her frustrations and may have contributed to her losing overall.  Plus, it was rather embarrassing when he admitted it to the world.  Now he seems to want to justify his actions and save face…

Mouratoglou’s observations aside, there is nothing he or Simon could say that justifies expansion of on-court coaching in tennis.  It is my hope that the powers that be think more carefully of the legacy of the sport before cheapening it with what I see as a potential gimmick to get more people into tournament seats as we approach tennis post-Serena and post-Federer.

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