Wimbledon is opposed to the idea of on-court coaching in the future as tennis innovations continue to spark debate.
The idea of on-court coaching has been used on the WTA tour for nine years, where each player can bring on their coach for some guidance during the match. This can be used one per set and has been implemented for every WTA event except the grand slams.
However the ATP have been opposed to it for a very long time and are yet to even consider the idea of using on-court coaching. The All England Club at Wimbledon have gone one step further and rejected using it for the future as they believe tennis is an individual sport, “I am really concerned that not enough thought is being given to it, and that it’s not evidence-based. Wimbledon feels fundamental that tennis is an individual sport,” explained Richard Lewis, the CEO of the All England Club.
“It’s a gladiatorial contest. It’s one of the things that makes tennis not unique but certainly the exception in world sport, and long may it continue.”
As well as using the individual argument, Lewis also explained to the New York Times in an interview that on-court coaching and other innovations such as shot clocks can be used as a commercial opportunity, “I hope it’s not introduced because it’s a commercial opportunity, because that’s a short-term view. Sometimes you can make more money for a few years but actually, it spoils the spectacle.”
It’s safe to say that Wimbledon will stick with tradition for quite some time now although fears that it could be left behind will be a concern that they will have to take care of in the future.
However the US Open have taken a different route and this year will be using innovations such as shot clocks as well as coaching in the qualifying tournaments. This new use of experimentation will one day lead to tennis becoming an innovative and different sport than we are used to right now.
