Taylor Fritz, the American tennis player currently ranked fifth in the world, has voiced his strong opposition to the International Tennis Federation’s (ITF) recent decision to allow off-court coaching from 2025. The new rule permits coaches to communicate with their players via verbal cues or hand signals during matches, except when points are being played.
Fritz argues that this change undermines the unique mental aspect of tennis, which he believes is as crucial as the physical component. In his view, tennis is a “one versus one” sport where players not only compete against each other but also engage in a mental battle. He feels that allowing coaching during matches takes away from this mental challenge, as players should be able to strategize and make decisions on their own.
“It would be insane if someone could come on the court for you and serve, right? So why can someone tell you what to do?” Fritz remarked after his recent victory over Daniil Medvedev at the ATP Finals. He compared the situation to a player having to figure out how to serve themselves, emphasizing that the same principle should apply to decision-making during a match.
Fritz also suggested an alternative solution to address the issue of covert coaching: placing microphones in the coaching boxes and monitoring the conversations to ensure they are limited to encouragement only. He believes this would maintain the integrity of the sport while preventing unfair advantages.
The ITF’s decision to allow off-court coaching was partly driven by the difficulty of enforcing the existing ban, as some coaches were already breaking the rules. However, Fritz maintains that stricter monitoring and penalties for violations would be a more effective approach.
This was the entire statement from Fritz: “I think one thing that makes tennis such a unique sport, such a cool sport, is it’s genuinely as mental as it is physical. It’s a big, key part – in my opinion – to be able to figure things out and strategize by yourself.
People change things that they’re doing on the court to adjust to the opponent. I don’t want a coach to be able to tell someone, Hey…
You see things differently when you’re not playing the match sometimes. I just think ‘one versus one’ part of tennis where not only are you playing against each other, you’re also having this mind battle almost against each other. It’s such a big part of the game. I think not a lot of people realize. I think you do have to play almost at the highest level to really understand how much strategy is going on.
That’s something that should be between the two players.
I think being able to make strategies, how you handle decision making, coming up with these kind of things under pressure, I think is just as important as hitting a serve or hitting a forehand.
It would be insane if someone could come on the court for you and serve, right? So why can someone tell you what to do?
That’s just how I feel. I compare it to the same as everything else you’re doing on the court. Why would anyone be helping you?
I have no problem with it in team events like United Cup, Davis Cup, Laver Cup. That makes sense. Coaching, okay. Individual, the rest of the season, it just makes no sense to me.”
Taylor Fritz in 2024
WLWWLWLLWW Currently the world no.5 (career-high), Taylor played his last match on the 10th of November when he overcame world no.4 Daniil Medvedev 6-4 6-3 in the round robin in the Nitto ATP Finals (draw).
This season the American achieved a 50-21 win-loss record. The American conquered 2 titles in 2024 in Delray Beach and Eastbourne. Taylor reached the final in Munich and U.S. Open.
