Coaching yes or coaching no, the great debate that takes place at the US Open

Coaching yes or coaching no? It is a question that has been coming up for a long time and that has taken on even more force since last July 11, in the aftermath of the 2022 edition of Wimbledon, when the ATP initiated a testing process and allowed coaches to instruct their players during matches. It took even more force when the US Open became the first Grand Slam in accepting, as the ATP and the WTA and the ITF have unified their criteria.

The debates and discussions have been going on for a long time and are very enriching indeed. Personally, I feel in a situation where it is difficult for me to take sides Because it depends on where I am. I think one thing as a coach, another as a former player and another as a spectator and a tennis lover.

I open the brackets. The relationship between the player and the coach is always very close and it’s a daily, minute-by-minute job. The coach is totally involved and focused on the adjustment of technical issues, on the work on strategic and mobility issues, on the management of the player’s emotions, on the reading of the game, on the anticipation and on the logic of each of the situations that the player then will have to resolve within the field.

The concrete thing is that this work also extends off the pitch and it is there that the coach becomes one. What helps you, what advises you, what listens to you, what guides you in a certain way beyond the specific problems of sport.

That relationship, until July 11, ended when the most important moment for a player of the week began, namely the game. The interaction and communication were automatically suspended. And, looking at it from this place, it was very strange that this would happen.

Eye, you also have to be honest. The implementation of coaching, for these hours, also gives a cloak of transparency to the sport. It was something that practically 99 percent, in order not to generalize and because no coach or player felt offended, practiced beyond what is required by the regulation. I always have been the indication hidden in a gesture or sign, as we said, already prepared. Or even in that “let’s go” or those words of encouragement they were also accompanied by information that meant a lot to the player. A “come on, play later” or a “come on, keep throwing crosses” or a “come on, I insisted on the backhand”. Many times it has gone unnoticed. And it was known that this happened.

Other axes also appear in this discussion. Both the organizers, the institutions and the general public agree that they want to see the best quality of tennis. They want to see players who are better every time and that the games are more and more interesting and that they are more and more contested. And this is where other questions arise that have to do with this discussion.Does a coach’s contribution to the player during the match enrich the show? Does it do it better? Help your player show his best tennis?

There will certainly also be a debate about it. The concrete thing is that in my opinion, clearly, the involvement of a coach can have a very important influence. And in some cases it can even be decisive. In other games, not so much because that indication, that instruction, could not be carried out or could not be understood correctly and the executor, the player, the main actor of a victory or a defeat, could not take advantage of it.

The debate, as I said, also focuses on possible inequality. Which doesn’t just have to do with one of the players not being with his manager in a tournament – due to overlapping schedules or simply because he can’t pay. Inequality can even focus on those who are already starting to have an income or are already among the best and have the opportunity to hire better coaches.

As I told you, in this case I don’t have a definite position. Because I had to be a coach and I confess it Seeing your player not making the right strategic decisions or not being able to adjust his position on the pitch by one meter or asking for a certain depth generates helplessness.. Because we know that those indications, if they can be applied and carried out correctly, can help change the course of a game. One as a coach feels bound and limited.

But, of course, for many the intervention of the coaches makes you lose that kind of magical duel standing alone. On the one hand, the player’s struggle with his mind, his physique and his tennis in front of an opponent who is on the other side of the net and is going through the same dilemmas. With the charm that all strangers, as they say, are made of wood.

Another question that is always worth asking in the debate is whether we agree that great champions are built. And, to achieve the goal of that process, there is also the possibility, for some, that the coach can continue to do his job without interruption.

On the other hand, and rightly so, there will be others who will tell you that the player has to prepare for the competition and once he enters the field for the points he has to look after himself without the help of the coach: for his strength, for his intelligence, for the control of his emotions, for the interpretation of what is happening, for his physical strength, for his physical condition, for his ability to execute the game plan and above all things to read and understand the game.

But let’s go to what unites us. And here’s what tennis is having more and better players and more and better competitors. And as I confessed, I have more doubts than certainties. Of course, I have a lot more questions than answers. The concrete thing is that it is time for tennis to take a step forward in terms of evolution. And the coach’s participation would be geared towards that part and more considering it was pretty much the only sport where a coach couldn’t be a positive part of a show.

But, on the other hand, I also confess that the feeling I got when I was a tennis player of going to a court to play heads-up is spectacular and unmatched. Not to mention the spectators who see in that duel a unique arm wrestling match of strength, courage and integrity in which the strongest will always, or almost always, survive.

The rules of coaching

• Coaches must be seated in designated seats for the tournament.

• Coaching (verbal and non-verbal) is allowed only if it does not interrupt the game or create discomfort during the point to the opponent.

• Verbal coaching is only allowed when the player is on the same side of the pitch.

• Non-verbal coaching (hand signals) is allowed at any time.

• Verbal coaching can consist of a few words and / or short sentences (conversations are not allowed).

• Coaches should not talk to their players when they leave the pitch for any reason.

• Sanctions and penalties will be applied for the abuse or misuse of the previous conditions.