Nick Kyrgios and Patrick Mouratoglou had two contrasting opinions about the new changes in men's tennis, which will permit off-court coaching.
Recently, the ATP revealed it will be trialing off-court coaching in the second half of the season. In this system, players will be at liberty to receive instructions from their coaches when they are on the same side of the court in qualifying and main draw matches.
Signals and gestures can also be used at any time, regardless of the player's station on the court, as they are classified as part of non-verbal coaching.
Patrick Mouratolgou welcomed the move, believing that the practice had been in existence for the longest time and that it was not prevalent among fans because players and coaches chose not to speak about it or confirm that it was actually happening.
The Frenchman has previously coached 23-time Grand Slam champion Serena Williams and is currently working with Simona Halep. He has opened up about coaching the legendary American from his seat during the 2018 US Open final despite Serena's protestations that she was not being coached.
"Congratulations to the ATP for “legalizing” a practice that has been going on at almost every match for decades. No more hypocrisy."
Nick Kyrgios, who is known for not traveling with a coach, begged to disagree with Mouratoglou's opinion. In fact, the mercurial Australian opined that tennis will lose its "unique trait" that cannot be associated with another individual or team sport.
"Completely disagree. Loses one of the only unique traits that no other sport had. The player had to figure out things on his own. That was the beauty of it. What happens if a high profile player versus a low ranked player who doesn’t have or afford a coach?"
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