Sony Ericsson WTA Tour Suspends On-Court Coaching Experiment
Posted by Aaress Lawless on Jul 24, 2008 | Print |
The Sony Ericsson WTA Tour has announced that on-court coaching has been suspended indefinitely after two years of testing.
While the trials were never conducted at a Grand Slam, the concept sparked mixed reactions from players, fans, and the media.
Although Tour officials have stopped short of saying that it will not be tested again in the future, they have made the decision to end the experiment.
“It’s been suspended. The Tour will evaluate the results of the testing period and make a decision as to whether to adopt on-court coaching or not,” WTA spokesman Andrew Walker said in comments first published by Reuters. “A specific timeframe for this decision has not been set.”
The Tour was only permitted to test coaching at select Tier events because of the International Tennis Federation’s rules. For some professional players, it was an asset to have their coach available, but others viewed the innovation in a different light.
“It’s interesting to see how things will work, but I don’t know whether the coaching will make a difference for me,” Maria Sharapova said. “I’ve always played by instinct. Coaches are good for scouting opponents and giving you a plan.”
Former world number one Kim Clijsters, who retired in 2007, was one of the more vocal opponents.
“I don’t know if I’m allowed to say this,” said Clijsters, “but it’s a rule I’m absolutely against.”
Others, including current world number one Ana Ivanovic, expressed concern that on-court coaching undermined the foundation of tennis as an individual sport.
“I like that tennis is individual game,” told Ivanovic to On the Baseline in an exclusive interview shortly after the tests began. “I also think that the communication between player and coach should be private. So I do not want it to become permanent.”
The issue will be further discussed by the Sony Ericsson WTA Tour’s Player Council at the season-ending Championships in Doha this November, according to Reuters.
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