Off-Court Coaching Trial Announced For Second Half Of 2022 Season | ATP Tour


The ATP has announced that ‘off-court’ coaching will be trialled for the second half of the season. The trial will permit coaching from designated coach seats during qualifying and main draw matches at ATP Tour events, starting from the week of 11 July 2022.

The trial will also take place at the US Open and will run through to the season-ending Nitto ATP Finals in Turin in November.

Various coaching rules have been trialled across the sport in recent years, including on-court coaching and coaching via headsets. Today’s announcement brings alignment for the second half of the season across the ATP Tour, US Open and Hologic WTA Tour, where an off-court coaching trial is already in place.

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In addition to ensuring consistency across the sport for the benefit of players and fans, the trial aims to create additional points of intrigue and insight to enhance the fan experience.

Off-court coaching will be permitted under the following conditions:

  • Coaches must sit in the tournament’s designated coach seats
  • Coaching (verbal and non-verbal) is allowed only if it does not interrupt play or create any hindrance to the opponent
  • Verbal coaching is permitted only when the player is at the same end of the court
  • Non-verbal coaching (hand signals) is permitted at any time
  • Verbal coaching may consist of a few words and/or short phrases (no conversations are permitted)
  • Coaches may not speak to their player when the player leaves the court for any reason
  • Penalties and fines will still apply for abuse or misuse of the above coaching conditions

The trial will be collectively evaluated at the end of the 2022 season, to assess potential inclusion of off-court coaching in subsequent seasons.

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