The WTA tour will not be curbing grunting and could expand on-court coaching, according to WTA CEO Steve Simon.
Speaking to a group of British journalists, Simon expressed his approval of the on-court coaching rule brought in by the WTA in 2009. "The on-court coaching has been positive. I want to look at it further," he was quoted as saying by The Times. "There are some great personalities among the coaches that could be good for our sport."
The rules allow a player to call a designated coach to court one time per set or during an opponent's medical break. The rule is not in place at non-WTA tournaments like the Grand Slams or on the men's tour, which apply the traditional rule of no coaching during matches.
But Simon would like to expand the rule further and allow coaching from the box at any time. "The fact is there is coaching. They all have coaches, and that's been the question for years; are they coaching from the box or aren't they?" he was quoted as saying by The Daily Mail, referring to signals coaches sometimes appear to make to players during play. "I think coaching is something the sport needs to embrace, it's part of the story."
On the other hand, Simon has no plans to pursue efforts to stop players from grunting, a frequent source of complaint from spectators and fans.
The CEO indicated that there would be no additional enforcement unless it was deliberate interference, saying, "If it becomes a hindrance then obviously there are rules that address that."
"The mics on court are picking it up," he said. "I don't think it's as strong as a few years ago, there are fewer players grunting."
Players and coaches have expressed mixed reactions to the on-court coaching rules.
