PARIS (AFP) – Patrick Mouratoglou, the coach at the centre of Serena Williams’s infamous US Open final meltdown, on Thursday called for on-court coaching to be allowed at all events.
The Frenchman insists that coaching goes on all the time at tournaments and to believe otherwise is ‘’hypocrisy’’.
‘’Coaching is a vital component of any sporting performance. Yet banning it almost makes it look as if it had to be hidden or as if it was shameful,’’ Mouratoglou wrote in a Twitter statement.
‘’Authorising coaching in competition and actually staging it so that the viewers can enjoy it as a show would ensure that it remains pivotal in the sport.’’
At the moment, on-court coaching is only allowed in WTA events but not on the men’s ATP Tour or at the four Grand Slams.
In September, Williams was warned for coaching when Mouratoglou was spotted making signals from the players box during the US Open final against Japan’s Naomi Osaka.
