Apart from playing some phenomenal tennis, World No. 4 Stefanos Tsitsipas has been in the headlines for his father’s on-court coaching. The Greek has been pinged a number of times by the umpire during his career. The latest was at the 2022 Australian Open, where he was given warnings in multiple matches. 

Former World No.1, Tennis legend Billie Jean King, recently put forward her views on the matter. Even though the world condemned the act, Billie spoke in favor of the on-court coaching, justifying it by comparing it to sports like baseball and football. 

She opened up on the matter while speaking on the ‘Holding Court with Patrick McEnroe’ podcast. 

Billie comes in support of Tsitsipas’s father’s coaching

While talking to Patrick McEnroe in his podcast, Billie Jean King came to a point where she termed the players as ‘entertainers’. She added that whatever they do is for the audience. She also appreciated the way in which tennis is marketed in the whole world. She then started suggested ways in which the sport can become even more engaging. She suggested the addition of the service clock on the TV screen. 

She then pointed out the coaching issue. She came up in support of on-court coaching, taking the example of Stefanos Tsitsipas’s coaching. She argued her point, saying that everybody coaches on the field. 

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“Let people coach…like Tsitsipas’s dad’s coaching. They have signals like the third base coach does in baseball. Just get rid of it. That way the poor umpire doesn’t have to pay attention to that at all”.

She further supported her views by saying that the coaches end give coaching. However, it is up to the player whether he listens to it or not. 

“First of all the player has to be able to hit,” she said. “You have been Davis cup coach. You know you can tell whatever you want, but it doesn’t mean he’s gonna do it.”

‘You Tell Him to Stop’: Chair Umpire Warns Stefanos Tsitsipas as Father Apostolos Coaches During Australian Open 2022 R4

Expressing her views, the 39-time Grand Slam champion also added that according to her, coaching should be a bigger deal as it attracts a lot of media. 

Stefanos Tsitsipas in 2022

After experiencing a Round Robin exit at the 2021 Nitto ATP Finals, Tsitsipas started his 2022 season at the ATP Cup. However, the new year made no difference for the Greek ace as he faced another Round Robin loss to Argentina’s Diego Schwartzman. 

After a disappointing performance at the ATP Cup, the World No. 5 entered the 2022 Australian Open as the 4th seed. Even though he faced some nerve testing matches, he somehow managed to escape the close calls and reach the semi-finals at the Arthur Ashe stadium. 

Even though he played some good tennis, it was the 2nd seed Daniil Medvedev who came out victorious in 4 sets. 

He next entered the 2022 ATP 500 Rotterdam Open. Unlike the Australian Open, Tsitsipas managed to reach the finals quite easily this time. However, it was his opponent, 3rd seeded Felix Auger-Aliassme’s day as he went on to win his maiden ATP title, beating Tsitsipas in straight sets. 

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