Novak Djokovic would like to see even more on-court coaching in tennis.
The 23-time Grand Slam winner — who is currently in the third round of the US Open — was asked about communication between players and coaches in tennis.
He was particularly asked why tennis players seem to shout more at their coaches compared to players in basketball to which he responded with a simple fact.
“Well, it’s different in basketball because you can basically go to your coach or bench any time you want,” Djokovic said (via Tennis 365). “We are not able to do that. So we have to sometimes raise our voice in order for our team to hear us or for us to hear them, because otherwise, you know, we have to communicate with the signs or signals. You know, it’s louder out on the court.
Djokovic would go on to state his desire to have more on-court coaching in the sport even though many — including tennis legends like Roger Federer — are against the idea as they feel it takes away from the beauty of tennis being an individual sport.
“I would want to see, honestly, you know, a possibility of — I’m actually supportive of the on-court coaching or headset communication, whatever ways of getting more coaching,” Djokovic explained. “I think it’s good. I think it’s good for the audience. It’s good for player. I understand that there are some, you know, opponents of this, you know, coaching rule that are saying, Yeah, you’re a tennis player, individual athlete, so you have to figure things out by yourself.
“Well, you have to figure them out anyway, even if the coach comes in, say, in a set break or whatever, and you talk, you still have to have to play yourself, right? There is no substitution. So it’s quite different, you know, than basketball. It’s really not comparable.”
Previously, coaching of any sort was completely banned from tennis. It's what led to Serena Williams getting a point violation during the 2018 US Open final for receiving gestures from her coach Patrick Mouratoglou.
However, as of the US Open last year, coaches can now offer brief verbal instructions and gesture towards their player. That said, conversations are still not allowed during games.
It's not the full extent of what Novak Djokovic wants, but it's a start.
“But yeah, I’m actually happy that we are able now to freely communicate rather than hiding from a chair umpire or supervisor like we did for many years,” he added. “So it’s good. I’m supportive of that.”