"I think it's fun and interesting" - Ruud backs coaching in tennis in latest talk with Corretja and Schett

French Open finalist Casper Ruud has praised the ATP for experimenting with coaching during matches, although his excitement was not shared by everyone on the latest episode of Ruud Talk.

The ATP will trial off-court coaching after Wimbledon with players allowed to receive instructions in qualifying and main draw matches in tournaments, including the upcoming US Open. The decision was rather welcomed by a few tennis players and coaches with Ruud himself being in favour of trying it.

He said:

"I have to give credit to the ATP for trying something new. As we have a very big group of young players, and a sort of new generation on the way… and I think we are quite open for some change, some new stuff. I think it’s a fair rule. When you are on the same side [of the court] you can communicate. Obviously you’re not going to stay there and talk with your coach for more than four-five seconds because you have to get ready for the next point."

Ruud continued:

"It’s not going to be a very big dialogue, back and forth, where you really get coached a lot. You are going to get some tips, but I know many coaches and players do this already – obviously trying to keep it under the radar. We’re not going to have dialogues of one minute between points because we have 25 seconds to get ready for the next point. I think it’s fun and interesting.”

Corretja added his bit:

"Listen, we are in 2022. We need to try things. But we know that as tennis players, we need to find our solutions. If I lost 7-6 in the first set, it’s me who needs to find a way to get back into my mindset and try to recover the match. On the other hand, I hate when the chair umpires are like policemen, looking at a coach to see if they do a sign… and they give you a warning. I think this is a little absurd because it gives extra pressure to the chair umpire, the player feels like they’re observing him, the coach feels like: ‘oh come on, I just said be more aggressive’.