The rule was implemented for the US Open from a year ago and the most recent Australian Open, where Tsitsipas made it to the final.
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Stefanos Tsitsipas is likely to be happy that Wimbledon and Roland Garros have joined the other two major tournaments in allowing on-court coaching. Tsitsipas was previously fined for what appeared to be conversations in his player’s box, which he later acknowledged. However, thanks to this rule change, he will be able to use his coaching staff during all four Grand Slam tournaments legally. The rule was implemented for the US Open from a year ago and the most recent Australian Open, where Tsitsipas made it to the final, and it will now be implemented for the two major European tournaments.
“Well, the coaching has always been there. Some coaches might have not been using it as much,” Tsitsipas said earlier this year. “In my case, it has always been part of how I do things when I’m on the court. I’m glad it’s not penalised now. That’s how it should be. I see no reason to have a coach with you if they can’t share some of their view and knowledge with you when you’re competing. I feel like it’s something very natural in our sport. For sure it should be used.”
Wimbledon had previously dismissed the possibility of allowing on-court coaching with former CEO Richard Lewis saying, “We are philosophically very against. We believe it is a gladiatorial sport, an individual sport; you go on court and the whole premise of tennis is that you are on your own. The grass court major has since reversed course, so last year’s Wimbledon might have been the final Grand Slam where players were prohibited from sharing information with their team. Tsitsipas, who is ranked third right now, will be hoping that this rule modification will allow him to outperform his current best showing at SW19, in which he advanced to the fourth round in 2018.
The Rotterdam Open’s top seed Stefanos Tsitsipas and Jannik Sinner could square off in the second round. The Greek is vying for his first indoor ATP 500 championship. Tsitsipas, who lost to Felix Auger-Aliassime in the Rotterdam final last year, will face World No. 53 Emil Ruusuvuori in his first ATP Tour matchup since making it to the Australian Open championship game last month. The Greek might face Sinner in a rematch of their five-set fourth-round Australian Open matchup if he beats the Finn in his opening match. The 2015 champion Stan Wawrinka, the seventh seed Pablo Carreno Busta, and the Auckland champion Richard Gasquet are possible opponents in the quarterfinals for the World No. 17 Sinner.
Alexander Zverev, the eighth seed, and Holger Rune, the fourth seed, are both in the top half of a draw that is stacked with quality. On the first day of the tournament, Rune competes in a qualifier, while Zverev’s potential quarterfinal rival plays Adelaide International 2 champion Soonwoo Kwon in the Netherlands. The defending champion, Auger-Aliassime, returns to the venue of his first ATP Tour victory, but in order to replicate his 2022 title run, he will need to navigate a tough third quarter. More than any other player on the Tour, the Canadian won four indoor titles last season, but his first-round opponent Lorenzo Sonego also has recent experience on indoor hard courts; the Italian didn’t lose a set on the way to winning his third tour-level championship.
