Ever since ITF announced that they would allow off-court coaching from January 2025, there has been a series of reactions from fans and ex-pros. According to ITF, the rule change is intended to align the coaching approaches with the sport’s modern-day demands. “It’s also meant to help ease the burden on chair umpires in policing the practice, often across multiple languages, by reducing subjectivity,” claims ITF. However, not everyone is convinced about it. During a recent episode (November 8) of Andy Zodin’s KickServeRadio podcast, a renowned tennis insider brought up the example of Coco Gauff and Brad Gilbert to explain how the new rule might not be good for the players.

Currently, off-court coaching is deemed prohibitory as per the definition of “coaching” under Rule 30 of the ITF regulations. Do you remember the controversial incident featuring Serena Williams and her then-coach, Patrick Mouratoglou at the 2018 US Open final? Then during the 2024 Wimbledon Championships, we saw a verbal tussle between Coco Gauff and her former coach, Brad Gilbert. Gauff was trailing Emma Navarro in the fourth round of the tournament and she looked towards her box in the second set, perhaps wanting some assistance from her team. She yelled,” Tell me something. You guys aren’t saying anything,” in frustration.

Gilbert looked a bit confused seeing that and he tried to give her a Plan B through hand gestures, but unfortunately for Coco Gauff, it didn’t work out. She eventually lost that match in straight sets to her compatriot! Highlighting that moment while explaining the new coaching rule in tennis, Andy Zodin said, “I’ve not been able to get my arms around it because when I see the look on some of these player’s faces, Coco Gauff and Brad Gilbert showed stuff on Tour and other players, they seem more annoyed.”

Zodin further tried to explain the frustration of the players by using the example of ‘ferocious Danimal. “I think they like the support of having people encourage them but with respect to giving them specific instructions. I think when they are getting from them, they’re on their eyes. And when they are not getting them from them, you got Danielle Collins going, ‘Where the Hell are You? Help me out here,” he added.

The new rule, which will be implemented next year, has been approved after a 6-month trial period. According to the new rules, players might receive coaching from off-court locations, can receive coaching instructions from the team captains (specifically for team events), and can also have possible access to Player Analysis Technology to get some live feedback on their game during the matches. As per the rules, coaching will be permitted during the change of ends for players, between the points, and even with the set breaks. It can be through hand gestures or can be verbal but it must be done in an orderly, bride, and discreet manner.

Any significant change in the sport is always met with mixed reactions and this case is no exception! Let’s check out some of the reactions from the renowned faces of the tennis world.

WTA and ATP stars share their thoughts on the new coaching rule

The first to react to the news of the implementation of the new rule from next year was the Canadian tennis star, Denis Shapovalov. He didn’t look too impressed with this change. Shapovalov raised a few questions on social media, as he stated on X, “Why do you try to change the beauty of this game? Not only as a tennis player but also as a fan of this sport, it is sad to see these new rules on coaching. Tennis is special because you are alone on the court. Why are you trying to change the beauty of this game?”

Even the ATP star Taylor Fritz shared his thoughts on it, as he said, “Can we stop ruining the 1v1 mental/strategic aspect of the sport PLEASE.” The former ATP pro-John Millman wrote, “Off-court coaching s-cks.” He believes this will widen the gap between those who can pay for a high-quality coaching team and those who can’t.

The former World No. 1 Jennifer Capriati, however, seemed in favor of the rule, as she said, “I think players should be able to have a stat pad to see the analytics in real-time. A player should be able to figure this out instinctually, but sometimes what you think you are doing is not what’s actually happening. You need to see the data. Then use that to execute.”

Although ITF’s senior executive director for integrity and legal, Stuard Miller claims that they’ve gathered feedback from all key stakeholders, including players, coaches, and the chair umpires, still not everyone seems to be on the same page. What are your thoughts on the new coaching rule, though?