Stefanos Tsitsipas says off-court coaching will end unfair violations

The ATP announced earlier this year that it would trial off-court coaching from July 11 through November's season-ending ATP Finals in Turin, with the US Open also joining the experiment, with the goal of enhancing fan experience. "My coach has not been as discreet as other coaches, but it (off-court coaching) has always been happening.

I've got a lot of coaching violations, which I found unfair, "Tsitsipas told reporters on Friday "But now that it's legalised I'm more than happy I won't have to deal with referees that are so strict and want to kind of ruin the game." The Greek said earlier this year he felt unfairly targeted by officials over off-court coaching and was fined for violations at the Australian Open, where he lost in the semi-finals to Russian Daniil Medvedev. Under the new rules, coaches must sit in designated seats and are allowed to coach only if it does not interrupt play.

Verbal coaching can only occur when the player is at the same end of the court as the coach, while non-verbal coaching -- through hand signals -- will be permitted at any time. The ATP announcement got a mixed reaction, with Australia's Wimbledon finalist Nick Kyrgios saying off-court coaching eliminated the beauty of the sport.

Top-ranked American and Indian Wells winner Taylor Fritz called the change a "dumb rule." Tsitspias disagrees. "Trust me, it (off-court coaching) is happening with almost every single player," he said.