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Taylor Fritz is not a fan of the ATP’s decision to implement ’off-court' coaching for the second half of the season. The governing body of men's tennis stated in July that they were going to allow off-court coaching, albeit on a trial basis, for the remainder of the 2022 season.
The change came into place in the week starting July 11 and will run through the US Open until the season-ending ATP Finals in Turin in November. Coaches are now allowed to communicate with their players during matches, though they still have to follow certain conditions.
Speaking at his post-match press conference following the 6-3, 6-2 defeat of Nick Kyrgios at the 2022 Cincinnati Open, Fritz touched upon the topic of coaching off-court. He stated that he has not consulted with his coach Michael Russell during matches even though it’s legally allowed now.
“I haven't talked to Mike and he hasn't talked to me one time since the coaching has become a thing. It's a dumb rule,” Fritz said.
The World No. 13 stated that tennis needs to remain an individual sport and the sport is ’as much mental as it is physical.’
“[It is a dumb rule] Because tennis is an individual sport. Why are we making it not an individual sport? A huge part of tennis is, in my mind, like as tennis is as much mental as it is physical, and a big part of it is you need to be figuring it out on the court for yourself. You need to be the one figuring it out,” he said.
“I think it's ridiculous that you can be mentally not there, not good analytically, not good at kind of working through things and coming up with strategies, and you can have someone tell you what to do. I hate it,” he added.
The ATP has previously stated that the coaching trial will be collectively evaluated at the end of the 2022 season to assess the potential inclusion of off-court coaching in subsequent seasons.
Off-court coaching has been a controversial topic on the ATP Tour
Off-court coaching has been a controversial topic in tennis for a long time. Before the change in rules, there have been several instances of players accusing their opponents of 'illegally' receiving coaching during matches.
An incident took place at the Australian Open earlier this year when eventual runner-up Daniil Medvedev accused Stefanos Tsitsipas of receiving instructions from his father Apostolos during their semifinal contest. The Greek player, however, later denied those accusations.
Several years back, Novak Djokovic also had to come out and deny accusations of receiving coaching during his matches. The proclamation came after his then-coach Boris Becker said that the team “have our ways” of signaling to the former World No. 1 to give him advice. However, the Serb did state that it does happen quite often.
“We can't pretend like that's not happening in tennis. Of course there are situations when it happens, and not just with the top players, with everybody. This is a very competitive sport. You're alone on the court,” Djokovic said in a press conference in 2015.
