Is the latest change to off-court coaching in tennis “ruining” the sport? That’s been the latest topic of debate for players after the International Tennis Federation announced it’s officially bringing the practice to the Grand Slams and all ATP and WTA events starting in 2025.
Off-court coaching had been trialed by the tours in some form since 2017, and has already been featured at the majors. Now, the ITF’s update to the rules of tennis means coaches are allowed to issue short bits of advice to players in between points either verbally or by hand signals, with longer conversation also allowed during breaks in play.
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According to the ITF, the rule change is intended to align “the approaches to coaching across the international sanctioning bodies of tennis.” It’s also meant to help ease the burden on chair umpires in policing the practice, often across multiple languages, by reducing subjectivity.
The organization says it used feedback from players, coaches and more stakeholders, as well as the findings from previous off-court coaching trials across all levels—including the mens and women’s tours, Grand Slams and ITF World Tennis Tour and wheelchair tennis tours—before making the decision.
