In fact, the ATP Tour, one of the game's three governing bodies, has decided to allow a limited amount of tennis on-court coaching, on a trial basis only, at some major professional events on the men's tour this year*. [/I]
This is an appalling development. One of the greatest appeals of tennis is that it demands from players the ability to think quickly when under pressure. Relying on someone else to do that thinking flies right in the face of what an individual sport demands, or should demand, from every player.
Tennis on-court coaching strikes at the heart of what tennis is all about. While it may be a very popular idea with coaches, as it presents all sorts of profile-lifting opportunities for them, I cannot imagine any intelligent player supporting a move like tennis on-court coaching that negates, to any extent whatsoever, a superior ability to out-think an opponent.
That is exactly the point -- the beauty of the game is that you are completely alone out on court, facing a player who is equally alone (which is why it is called "singles").
In order to preserve the appeal that tennis has to independent thinkers and to the very integrity of the game, that aspect of the game should remain sacrosanct.
Of course, in a team situation such as Davis Cup, it is absolutely appropriate to have input from a coach or captain who is every bit a part of the team as the players . But it is absolutely inappropriate to allow tennis on-court coaching during individual tournament play.
After the three month trial period, I sincerely hope the ATP Tour decides against continuing something that never should have been allowed in the first place.
Chris Lewis (16 May, 1998)
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* After the three month trial period, during which players were almost united in their disapproval of tennis on-court coaching, the ATP Tour wisely scrapped the idea.