Yeah, I think he’d have been the best of that generation but basically still only another Stan, including the great backhand. It’s not to be sneezed at but it isn’t the most memorable level of greatness..
True, though I find Stan to be quite memorable and very interesting, especially from my nerdy perspective of comparing historical players. He is rather singular, with a strange "shape" to his career.
Sod was always better as a sniper than as a bare knuckle fighter. He’d shoot them safely from a distance - say, the quarter final - but put him in the ring on a big finals day, and he was a tiny puppy…
This came from ITF so it isnt dodgyWait, what does this mean? Coaches sitting courtside? “Make the game fairer and more entertaining?” WTF does this even mean? Fairer, how? More entertaining, how?
It’ll ruin the game and cheat players who deserved to win out of a title. It’s man to man combat on court. It’s Darwinian. Let them try this shit out on the women, who cares what they do?
This is a terrible idea. Hopefully this is not true. There’s a lot dodgy websites out there..
Make the game fairer is the really most insane thing I’ve seen. WTF ITF, what does that mean?
Tennis is an 'individual' sport oh well it used to be? I am totally against any form of coaching full stop, I mean I never thought I would see the day when the WTA introduced it then the ATP followed.
or maybe they could trial it first before making it legal.
This is really poor. Coaching at any stage “except during the playing of a point?”Tennis is an 'individual' sport oh well it used to be? I am totally against any form of coaching full stop, I mean I never thought I would see the day when the WTA introduced it then the ATP followed.
Legalised off court coaching will come into effect on January 1, 2025
"Players will be able to receive " brief and discreet" instructions from their coaches in the box between points".
The International Tennis Federation (ITF) said it was satisfied with almost 8 years of trial and would allow all ATP and WTA tour matches along with the 4 grand slams to permit off court coaching.
ITF integrity boss Stuart Miller said the move would be welcomed by players, coaches and chair umpires, who had said monitoring exchanges between players and their personal box had overburdened them.
It will be left to individual tournaments to determine and what penalties will remain for coaching that comes in a ' manner or at a time that is not permitted"
Subject to coaching being permitted by the sanctioning body of each events,
1. Coaching is allowed between points and at change of ends and set breaks, at any other time (except during the playing of a point) permitted by the sanctioning body
2. For off court and on court coaching between points, communication may be verbal, ( when the coaches and players are at the same end of the court) or by hand signals ( at any time when coaching is permitted).
3. Off court coaching and on court coaching between points, must be brief ( except during breaks in play and discreet)
For more info download the ITF Rules of Tennis by searching "Rule of Tennis" on google play
In regards to your question of being fairer?
How is it going to do that when it is actually giving an edge to players able to afford a coaching team and maybe even a data science team, as now players will be able to consult data sets on court?
Do you think the average player who's not been taught how to use data can take advantage of that?
They were just 2 thoughts that came to my mind.
What next? in 2026 coaches will be allowed to sit on court beside their players for the a entire match? it would not surprise me in the least
"
This is really poor. Coaching at any stage “except during the playing of a point?”
Why can’t they coach them during the points too? Bigots! What if a player has a simple backhand, like Rafa in 2012 against Novak, the coach could shriek, “Down the line, dumbass!” Imagine that. Why even mention not being allowed to coach during the points, because let’s face it, that’s not a thing.
This will make coaches more bloated in importance, they’ll be like football coaches, waving their arms in the stand, letting us know that the player is an idiot and so is the umpire. Tennis is about to lose its character, permanently. Mental strength will be no longer a deciding factor because the player who’s struggling will get mollycoddled until his attack of the vapours passes, and he settles again.
That’s unfair on the player who’s mentally tougher.
What next? A psychologist on the side of the court to help with mental health issues? As Don Draper once said, that’s what the money is for. Pay for all this help so you’re ready to play the match. If you need an assistant on court helping you, then you’re not properly prepared for the match. And the same coach who left you not properly prepared is going to be courtside telling you how to play? Too late! They have to figure it out themselves.
And of course, if players can’t afford to pay for this stuff before the match, how can they have it during the match? A court appointed representative will arrive during the warm up and tell the umpire, “your honour, I’m representing Doofus in their case against Djokovic.”
The only hope is that the tournaments themselves choose to wave this thing away.
Yeah, and as for making things fairer, it's still a mystery to me what that means. As you say, the wealthier will have their better resources. But even still, a lower player will have their coach who most likely is not the same level as the top players coaches.
Everybody has bad ideas and we live in an age where stupid people think change is always a good thing. Look at this:
The changes proposed by Billie Jean King?
1. Instead of the beautiful archaic mysteries of our scoring system, dumb it down so that instead of 15-love we’d have 1-zero, etc, until a player wins 4 points and the game. Why? Because BJK thinks people are too stupid to understand the scoring system that everybody understands.
Why does she think that? Because she’s an elitist who thinks ordinary folk are stupid.
2. Players should wear a number and their name on the back of their shirt. Why? Because BJK thinks sports fans are idiots who need help to tell two players apart from each other. Even when the two players are standing on opposite sides of the net.
3. Get rid of best of five. Go to two out of three for men and women, or both play the same number of sets. Why? Because she thinks the players get paid by media content, and so…they trailed off there and the TV presenter politely called her a legend but in a defensive way, since he knew she was cracked and leaking.
The panel were also polite in serving her off the court without directly telling her, “hey BJ, that sucks..”
Don’t kill the golden goose. Tennis doesn’t need changes. Ask fans, don’t ask out of touch elitists who still want to appear relevant…
Yes, she thinks people are idiots. You’re just touchy because I’m pointing out that she’s displaying typical patronising traits of the democrats, in how they think of people and minorities in particular. She’s elitist. The scoring system is a problem? Dumb it down so it can be counted on fingers? There can be only one reason.
Nope, you obviously dont know the context of BJK nor tennis history. Her comments are just another rehashing of her lifelong dream & baby: World Team Tennis. Most those rule changes she proposed actually happened in WTT in the 70’s. Back then it was no ad scoring, team colors, etc.
