The Australian Open presents its big novelty for 2025

After many years of testing and innovation, coaching between coaches and players in the world of tennis will take a step further and reach a new level in this 2025 Australian Open. The tournament director, Craig Tiley, has introduced a major innovation for this edition. It involves a special spot for the players' team, within the court.

Until now, players' teams were placed in the stands. From there, coaches had to give "brief and discreet" instructions to their players, only when they were on the same side of the court. Being located in the stands sometimes hindered communication. This will change starting from the upcoming edition, as the tournament has provided a privileged spot for them at court level, instead of the stands.

This will be visible on the three main courts, the Rod Laver Arena, the Margaret Court, and the KIA. In this way, coaches will find it much easier to communicate with their players since they will move away from the noise of the stands, and players will be able to receive more comfortably what is being transmitted from their team.

The coaches will have access to a Tablet, where they can see real-time statistics and other relevant data about the match, enabling them to provide the best and quickest information to their players. This new measure has been approved by the players. Among them, Carlos Alcaraz, who spoke precisely about this during Media Day.

Faster and more direct coaching

"Now we are closer to being able to communicate. I see this change in a positive light. Juanki also mentioned to me that he feels more comfortable. The two exhibition matches I've played here have gone quite well. It's much better that they can watch the match from there. If they can't see it well, in the end, it's useless," Carlitos commented on this new measure.
Initially, coaches were somewhat skeptical when they heard the proposal, admits Craig Tiley. "We tested it this week, and it went very well. From that side, there is a great view of the match, and players will be able to speak directly with coaches when they go for the towel," explains the tournament director, who also aims to revolutionize the role of coaches.

Tiley suggests that coaches also speak in more post-match press conferences and give their point of view on everything, hence providing them access to all kinds of real-time information about the performance of their players. “We are going to give them access to services, like we do for the players - from massages to specific data or medical support. As a former coach, I believe coaches should have a greater presence. I think this will be very interesting," he concludes.
 

This is an automatic translation. You can read the original news, El Open de Australia presenta su gran novedad de cara a 2025