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Taylor Fritz claims introducing off-court coaching is ‘ruining’ aspects of the sport

Matthew Johns
Matthew Johns
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Taylor Fritz has reacted to the news that off-court coaching will remain a part of the sport next year, after being introduced on a ‘trial basis’ since 2017.The International Tennis Federation (ITF) yesterday announced that off-court coaching will be allowed at all four Grand Slam tournaments, alongside both the ATP and
WTA Tours. These changes mean that ‘coaches can issue advice either verbally or via hand signals at any time except during the playing of a point’, as well as other technicalities.

Off-court coaching trials began back in 2017, and have been introduced to Grand Slams, as well as the main tours since last year.

When making this announcement, the ITF revealed that they have had positive feedback from these trials and are making it a permanent fixture to ‘reduce the burden on chair umpires’, ‘support the development of players’ and to make tennis ‘more entertaining’. Despite the ITF making these claims, this announcement has received a strong reaction from fans and players including Taylor Fritz and Denis Shapovalov. “Can we stop ruining the 1v1 mental/strategic aspect of the sport PLEASE,” Fritz wrote on X (formerly known as Twitter). The
US Open finalist continued, “I have a joke w[ith] my team that ‘trial basis’ in ATP terms just means it’s a new permanent rule but call it a trial so people don’t freak out…. We been on this trial for 2 years I guess now, kinda proves my point.”
While former top 10 player Shapovalov took to the same social media platform to admit that this news made him sad, claiming that the ITF was ‘trying to change the beauty of the game’. “Not just as a tennis player but as a fan of this sport it’s sad to see this new off court coaching rule,” said the Canadian. “Tennis is special because you are out there alone. Why are you trying to change the beauty of this game.”
Despite its criticism, off-court coaching will remain in its current format until the end of the calendar year, being formally adapted to its new permanent form from 1st January 2025.Inside the baseline…
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It is hard to argue with either Taylor Fritz or Denis Shapovalov, as the independent nature of singles tennis is what makes the sport so special and gives it a unique selling point. However, it is of no surprise that this has come into place and like Fritz implied it was easy to forget that this was supposed to be a trial. What will be interesting is to keep an eye on how much players like Fritz and Shapovalov take advantage of this ruling, if at all.
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