 |
Players Will Be Allowed To Consult
Coaches At Two WTA Events |
The Sony Ericsson WTA Tour will allow players to request that their coaches come
onto the court once per set, as well as during set breaks, during the Rogers Cup
in Montreal and Pilot Pen Tennis tournament in New Haven, Connecticut, next month.
During televised matches, all coaching timeouts will be filmed and available for
broadcast on a tape-delayed basis. Also, if a player takes a medical or bathroom
break, the opposing player may request to speak with her coach (
WTA).
WTA CEO Larry Scott said of the move, “For a sport that hasn’t been
known for a lot of change, this signals a major shift of culture and energy.”
Scott, who expects “more intensive testing” on the concept in ’07,
added, “It gives commentators and producers some more color, another actor
in the play, a peek behind the curtain.” ESPN Dir of Programming & Acquisitions
Jason Bernstein added of the sport of tennis, “There are definite seeds
of change and a willingness to try new innovative and creative things.”
Pilot Pen Tennis Tournament Dir Anne Worcester said that tennis “needs to
break new ground to stay competitive for consumers’ entertainment dollars.”
Worcester: “Even the purists have woken up to the fact that if we don’t
move forward, we will fall further behind” (
USA
TODAY, 7/14).
