The International Tennis Federation (ITF) plan to shake up tennis for the 2025 season after confirming that off-court coaching will be allowed.
Rennae Stubbs said there is an imbalance with coaching after the new rule was announced, with the ITF having recently trialled it across the ATP and WTA tours.
The governing body aims to make tennis fairer with the new rule, as well as wanting to make it more entertaining to watch.
It means coaches are allowed to issue advice to their players any time apart from during the playing of a point.
There is still plenty to play for in the current season, but many players will already be looking ahead to 2025 given the new rule that will be in place.
Taylor Fritz thinks off-court coaching is bad for the mental aspect of the sport, with his fellow ATP star Jannik Sinner now sharing his thoughts on the issue.
Speaking in his Paris Masters opening press conference, the world number one said: “Yeah, I hadn’t read perfectly what this coaching is about. The coaching, they stay from the players’ box or they can come on court?
“Yeah, I don’t think it will change like incredibly much. Even now there are just some coaches who still give some advice at some times.
“So I believe that this sport is still… as a player, you are alone in the court and trying to figure out alone what the situation is. But there are already some connections with the coach, and then you understand already what he’s talking about and what he’s suggesting already, so I don’t think it’s going to change incredibly much.
“We haven’t seen, like, a big, big change when there is no coaching, no? Because you watch the coach, you understand him already for years, so you understand what’s coming. So let’s see. But I don’t think it’s going to be a big, big change.”
Sinner can certainly afford to relax if indeed the new coaching rule doesn’t change much to his success on the court.
The Italian is enjoying a phenomenal season so far, having just added further awards to his trophy cabinet at the Shanghai Masters and Six Kings Slam.
His attention now turns back to the ATP Tour and the Paris Masters, with a potential meeting with Ben Shelton on the cards.
Sinner is the top seed in France, and begins his competition in the round of 32 after receiving a first-round bye.
The Italian, who has seven tour-level titles to his name in 2024, tops both the world rankings and the Race to Turin.