Do you agree with the WTA's decision to allow on-court coaching?

Question

Personally I think it's a bad decision. It did not work well when they first used back in 2006 and I don't see how this is going to work now. The problem has always been players using the bathroom breaks and medical timeouts to change the momentum of a match as a means of cheating when they are not really injured or need to use the bathroom. Now the WTA has decided to give the players another way to legally CHEAT during a match!!!

The rule has always been that once the player steps on court, all coaching seizes from that moment on. This is the rule and it should be kept that way. Do you agree?

http://sports.yahoo.com/ten/news;_ylt=Ap_5Ro2ZEYs4r5sai031ZrQ4v7YF?slug=ap-wtatour-changes&prov=ap&type=lgns

Answer 1

I've always liked how in Tennis you were on your own once you stepped out onto that court.  Let the coaches coach before the match and let the players decide the match once on the court.    

I think the WTA is making a big mistake by allowing coaching on court.  Besides disrupting the enitre flow of the game (which it will), I don't particularly want to see inferior players winning because they may have a better coach than another more talented player might have.  

Answer 2

I definitely think they should allow coaching. There are very few sports that don't allow coaching, so it makes little sense for that to be the case with tennis.

For anyone who has spent any time near a tennis court during a professional WTA match, it's impossible to miss all of the "secret" coaching that happens anyway. So instead of pretending, let's just allow it. It would also likely stop a lot of the silliness with bathroom breaks, injury timeouts, etc.  

Answer 3

This is a tough one, because on the one hand I think on court coaching may make for more interesting matches---maybe better tactical matches. Sometimes when a player is in the middle of a match they may not see things that someone who is looking at the bigger picture can see. Also, since the coaches will be miked, it would be interesting to hear what's being said.

There are things that concern me about it. Number one, the players will be allowed to get coaching during medical breaks, which may result in more players pretending to be injured or ill in order to get more coaching. As you mentioned, the bathroom breaks and medical timeouts are already being abused, at least by some players. Number two, while the top players can afford full-time travelling coaches, what about the lower ranked players who can't afford it? This would put them at a distinct disadvantage. Number three, since the coaches have to agree to wear microphones, it may have an effect on what they tell their players.

I am not against the concept of coaching per se, but I don't like the way the WTA is doing it. I am totally against being able to get coaching during medical breaks. Also, the issue of availability of coaches for ALL players definitely must be addressed.

Answer 4

Players should be on their own once the match starts. Players are too dependant on their coaches how it is and that shudnt be encouraged. Takes the brains outta tennis,I admire smart players  - not ones that are just puppets for the coaches. Its one thing working out a players weakness and another to be told it. They get hours and hours to try figure that out b4 they get on court, on court it shud be down to 2 playrs. thats it.

Answer 5

Is there another individual sport like this that doesn't allow coaching during the match?

With all the comparisons to Boxing lately, why not allow coaching in tennis, at least between sets?  And with all the hype about players receiving coaching from the player's box, we might as well have honest coaching on the sidelines.  Team Tennis has coaching on the sidelines, why not for the regular singles tour?

I don't think it's a form of cheating unless there are rules against it.  If there are rules against it, then let's enforce those rules.  And while we're at it, let's enforce the time between points rules too.

My question is, why this coaching just for women?  How about the ATP try it out too?  Women shouldn't need coaching any more than men need it?