David Haggerty: ITF Will Monitor WTA's on-court coaching trial

David Haggerty, the President of the International Tennis Federation, says he is still opposed to on-court coaching outside of team competitions but said that the ITF would use data from the new WTA trial of coaching from the stands this year to have another look at the issue, according to Eurosport.

Last month, the WTA announced that it would trial coaching from the stands at all Premier and International tournaments this year under which coaches would be able to help their players from the stands. The WTA, which already allows its players to call their coaches to the court at certain points during a match at WTA events, will start its new trial with the Dubai Duty-Free Championships and the Hungarian Ladies Open this month.

Haggerty commented, "Watching this trial, and then we can in a year, with more data, be able to make some more informed decisions. I think that often when you have changed, you have different sides of the argument. Some people don't like it. Some people do like it. I think there are places for it. I believe very strongly that in Davis Cup and Fed Cup the captain coaching on the court is a key part of the competition. But that's a team environment. Individuals were maybe a little bit different. I think our role is to make sure that we work with all the various bodies and then work together to make a smart decision."

Haggerty said that the ITF had previously tested the on-court coaching at junior events but found no discernible impact on results. "We looked at it, did a study on the results of the players that used it, the matches that weren't used. We saw no difference in the results with a coach coming on the court versus a match where you had no one come on the court at the same time, five-three or whatever."

from Tennis World USA https://ift.tt/38wEcUZ