Yahoo Sport 
Serena Williams coach Patrick Mouratoglou calls for on court coaching to be allowed
Patrick Mouratoglou, the coach of Serena Williams, believes that on-court coaching should be allowed throughout tennis – and that coaches and players should be obliged to communicate on court in English so that television viewers can understand what they are saying.
Mouratoglou was at the centre of the controversy at last month’s US Open when Williams became embroiled in a furious row with the umpire, Carlos Ramos, during her defeat in the final to Naomi Osaka. The dispute started when Ramos gave Williams a code violation after ruling that Mouratoglou had been attempting to coach her during the match. On-court coaching is not allowed at Grand Slam tournaments.
Writing in his regular column in the autumn edition of “tennishead” magazine (tennishead.net), Mouratoglou argues that almost every other sport allows coaching during play.
“You see it all the time in team sports, with coaches instructing their players from the sidelines,” Mouratoglou says. “You also see it in individual sports. Boxers receive a constant stream of advice from their corners, cyclists on the road have radio contact with their teams and golfers are talking regularly to their caddies.”
Mouratoglou says that the no-coaching rule is regularly flouted in tennis. He also points out that coaching is already being allowed in many areas of the sport away from the Grand Slam tournaments.
For example, players are allowed to call their coaches on to the court in tournaments on the women’s tour and captains sit on the court during Davis Cup and Fed Cup ties. The US Open also allowed on-court coaching in qualifying and in junior matches this summer.
Mouratoglou believes that showing the interaction between players and coaches on television would help to popularise tennis. “Seeing and hearing the coaches and players talking to each other personalises the sport and brings out their characters,” he writes. “Listening to the communication between a player and a coach can be very interesting and can provide real insight into the game.
Serena Williams vs Naomi Osaka: Story of the US Open women's final
Serena Williams vs Naomi Osaka: Story of the US Open women's final
1/8 Serena gets headed
Serena Williams was aiming for her seventh US Open title against Naomi Osaka, but things did not go her way.
Reuters / USA TODAY Sports
2/8 Naomi Osaka wins first set
The 20-year-old from Japan won the first set 6-2, but there was drama ahead
Getty
3/8 First the coach
Williams was penalised for what the umpire deemed to be coaching from the sidelines by Partrick Mouratoglou. She disagreed and the war with the official began by Williams saying she was not a cheat. “I don’t cheat to win,” Williams told Ramos after he had issued the code violation. “I’d rather lose.”
Getty
4/8 Then the racket
Williams took her anger out on her racket after dropping a serve, the penalty was a point deduction. “You owe me an apology. I have never cheated in my life," she told the umpire. "I have a daughter and I stand for what is right.”
USA TODAY Sports
5/8 And finally, the tournament referee
A furious Williams received a third code violation for verbal abuse and demanded to see the tournament referee, Brian Early. An increasingly upset Williams told Earley that male players say far worse without receiving similar punishment and said she was being penalised “because I’m a woman”.
AP
6/8 Naomi Osaka wins 6-2 6-4
Naomi Osaka won her first Grand Slam, but the match will be remembered for a completely different reason.
Getty
7/8 Williams priases Osaka
Williams was hesitant to do her on-court interview but praised Osaka's performance. "I don't wanna be rude or interrupt or do questions. I wanna say she played well, it's her first Grand Slam. I know the guys were rooting and I was rooting too."
Getty
8/8 Williams calls for fairness
"But I've seen other men call other umpires several things. I'm here fighting for women's rights and for women's equality and for all kinds of stuff. For me to say 'thief' and for him to take a game, it made me feel like it was a sexist remark. He's never taken a game from a man because they said 'thief'. It blows my mind," she said. "I just feel like the fact that I have to go through this is just an example for the next person that has emotions, and that wants to express themselves, and wants to be a strong woman.
Getty
Mouratoglou's on-court instructions to Williams sparked the infamous US Open outburst (Getty)
“Emotions can run high when coaches talk to their players during matches. Sometimes the players don’t like to hear what their coaches are saying, but this all adds to the drama.
“Sometimes you see a coach trying to calm the player down. On other occasions, the coach’s intervention might make the player angry, but it might also produce a great reaction from the player on the court. It’s all a very good way of showing how coaches do their work and how players react to them.”
Mouratoglou believes it is important to get spectators “emotionally involved” in the action. “You want spectators and TV viewers to have opinions about the players – and the coaches - and to know who they like and don’t like,” he explains.
“If we don’t involve people in this way, then tennis is only ever going to be followed by pure tennis lovers. To attract new fans we need to offer more than just the sport itself. We need to show them the personalities of the people they are watching.”
Mouratoglou's on-court instructions to Williams sparked the infamous US Open outburst (Getty)
If on-court coaching is allowed Mouratoglou thinks it should be obligatory for players and coaches to communicate in English, for the benefit of TV viewers.
“It’s important that TV viewers can understand what is being said, even if it’s through the commentators translating and explaining what the coach and the player have been saying,” he says. “Having the commentators discussing what the coach and player have been talking about all adds to the interest.
“If the coach and player are communicating in Slovakian or Arabic or Mandarin, most people – including the commentators – aren’t going to understand what is being said.
“English is the international language of tennis. I know there are some coaches, even at a high level, who do not speak very good English, but that is not right. We are professional coaches. We travel on the tour all year and we’re supposed to speak English.”
