Taylor Fritz has reiterated his opposition to a decision to allow off-court coaching at matches from 2025 shortly after winning his opening match at the ATP Finals.
Last month, the International Tennis Federation (ITF) confirmed they had approved the use of off-court coaching following their AGM meeting. From January 1st, coaches will be allowed to communicate verbally or via hand signals with their players during matches apart from when points are being played. The ITF claims the move will make tennis ‘fairer and, potentially more entertaining.’
At the time of the announcement, Fritz was one of the first players to speak out against the rule change. Even though off-court coaching has been used on a trial basis at all four Grand Slams, as well as both the ATP and WTA Tour’s since 2023.
Speaking in more detail about his views, the US Open finalist argues that using coaches during matches takes away the ability for players to work problems out themselves which is one of the things that makes the sport unique.
“I think one thing that makes tennis such a unique sport, such a cool sport, is it’s genuinely as mental as it is physical. It’s a big, key part – in my opinion – to be able to figure things out and strategize by yourself,” Fritz told reporters after beating Daniil Medvedev.
“I just think ‘one versus one’ part of tennis where not only are you playing against each other, you’re also having this mind battle almost against each other.
“It’s such a big part of the game. I think not a lot of people realize. I think you do have to play almost at the highest level to really understand how much strategy is going on.
“That’s something that should be between the two players. I think being able to make strategies, how you handle decision-making, coming up with these kinds of things under pressure, I think is just as important as hitting a serve or hitting a forehand.
“It would be insane if someone could come on the court for you and serve, right? So why can someone tell you what to do? That’s just how I feel. I compare it to the same as everything else you’re doing on the court. Why would anyone be helping you?”
It is argued that some coaches are already breaking rules by communicating with their players despite risking a penalty. Therefore such a rule change will have little impact as it is already being used by some. However, Fritz has a somewhat different idea when it comes to tackling this problem.
“I think as far as it should go with the coach talking to you is giving you encouragement, saying, ‘great shot, good job, keep going, keep fighting’, stuff like that,” he said.
“I think when it gets into strategic, back up, hit it this way more, cover this, I don’t think that’s (fair)
“I think a lot of the reason they made this rule in the first place is they were almost in a way bullied into it because a lot of people would just break the rules anyway and coach anyways.
“There should be mics in the boxes. I think there should be someone monitoring the mics. It should be very, very strict to where if anything goes past just encouragement, immediately you’re penalized. That’s how you fix it. That’s how you have no coaching. Players have to figure things out on their own. That’s one of the great things about tennis.”
Fritz will next play Jannik Sinner at the ATP Finals.
