Javier Frana
09/06/2021 19:01
Clarín.com
sports
Updated 09/06/2021 19:01
In tennis there is a topic that is talked about with force:
coaching
, the instructions of the coaches to the players during the matches.
Many will remember the 2018 US Open final, when chair umpire
Carlos Ramos
sanctioned Serena Williams for receiving
coaching
from her coach,
Patrick Mouratoglou
.
This generated a great discussion and ended up tarnishing the great victory of Naomi Osaka.
The reality shows that the male professional circuit is absolutely prohibited from
coaching
.
In the female category, in 2018, the possibility was implemented for the coach to enter a change of side, when the player requests it, so that both can exchange ideas.
Then the WTA made modifications, pandemic in between, and the
coach
can no longer enter the court, but
is free to transmit information
, either gestural or verbal, in case the position of both is close.
It is suggested that there is no exchange of ideas, but it is something that logically ends up happening.
The vision of the WTA seems much more realistic to me.
But the ITF, which governs Grand Slam tournaments, does not allow players to receive instructions from off the pitch, whether they are men or women.
Serena Williams discusses with Carlos Ramos at the US Open 2018. Photo Reuters
The controversy was rekindled recently with Stefanos Tsitsipas, who in one of his interruptions to go to the bathroom could have taken the phone.
And his father could just be seen sending a message from the rostrum.
It seems to me that this suspicion is very "hairy" and highly unlikely.
Unfortunately, this cost him a lot of dislike.
He is a very correct player and a person who did not deserve it, but that is a separate discussion.
It is known that even if it is not allowed, the coach always tries to pass some gesture or coded signal.
Or it even seeks to camouflage the indication in a cry of encouragement, perhaps with words that generate certain triggers and that come to provoke a whole idea in the player.
This ends up being the great challenge for coaches: knowing what word to use to generate an idea.
In my view
, if not well have a fully defined position,
the
coaching
should be allowed
.
For starters and without doubts, in the training categories.
There, the boys are in the process of learning and the possibility of advising them
in situ
when they go through a situation that they must overcome without thinking about that specific game, but for the construction of better tennis players for the future.
Many will tell me that the beauty of tennis is that it is a heads up and that the one who thinks and solves the best without help wins.
This is partly so, but on the other hand I have never heard that the triumph of a world champion in boxing has been undermined because his corner provided better instructions.
Andy Murray got ugly mad at Stefanos Tsitsipas for taking him long to go to the bathroom during the match between the two at the US Open AFP photo
The role of the coach can enrich the game, because after all he is not the one who makes the decision to shoot crossed or parallel, he does not decide if the player stands a meter ahead or if he takes any particular risk.
That is absolutely up to the player.
It would be a great contribution if everyone is clear that these meetings will end up giving the show greater quality, greater hierarchy.
I heard a few years ago, when all this debate was starting, that
coaching
could be unfair, because not all players have coaches.
It is true, but less and less happens.
This could be solved if the
coaching
during the match is given from an agreement between both players.
If anyone prefers not to be allowed, the match could take place under normal conditions.
The truth is that the best players are the ones who think best and have the most autonomy on a court.
I remember telling Roger Federer, prior to an interview, that I felt qualified to coach him, why clap and say "Very good, very good!"
it is something that I can do in multiple languages.
These players think alone on the court, since they have an enormous capacity to play and at the same time they have a part of their mind sitting in the best seat, observing absolutely everything that happens.
This is clearly reflected when the party takes a trend, when its position changes or when its depth changes.
Immediately, they manage to find the fit.
So that things begin to be clear,
the great coaches achieve over time that the player has autonomy and that his function is increasingly dispensable.
That is the mission.
A great coach manages at some point not to have the need to be there, except by the player's will, because he has already taught him everything and gave him the necessary tools so that he can understand what is happening on the court.
HS
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