Fiend at Court Unplugged
Brad Gilbert was once ejected from a junior tournament during one of his son’s matches. Zack’s opponent that day was one of those unusual players with a relatively weak forehand. Somehow his son failed to notice that tactical opportunity. Gilbert couldn’t control his impulse to signal his son to hit more balls to that side of the court. Failing to convey the message, Gilbert resorted to an increasingly intense series of gestures. He was busted by the roving umpire and ejected from the match.
This was one of the stories that Gilbert shared in “I’ve Got Your Back,” a book on business leadership that he authored in 2005. More recently Gilbert was on the tennis broadcast team during the 2018 US Open Finals between Naomi Osaka and Serena Williams that will forever life in infamy. The drama was sparked by a coaching violation call against Serena. My own take on that episode is encapsulated in “The Aftermath of the 2018 US Open.”
In the post-match commentary following that US Open Final, I can recall being annoyed at Gilbert for some of his statements and observations. The revelation that he has long been in favor of on-court coaching in tennis as documented in “I’ve Got Your Back,” modified my perspective. At the time, I interpreted his comments as excusing Serena’s behavior. I now view Gilbert’s part in that saga through an entirely different lens.
Gilbert’s ejection from his son’s match also illustrates alternative ways that coaching violations are handled in practice. There is a difference between USTA junior tennis and the professional ranks. There is a point in time where parents are penalized. Somewhere along the way, player accountability comes into play.
The punchline to Gilbert’s story is that his son had absolutely no idea what the increasingly frantic hand signals were event attempting to communicate. In any case, his son was at the age where parental wisdom was a contradiction in terms. He probably wouldn’t have been interested in the advice even if he understood it.
The fact that Gilbert was a successful professional player and coach was completely irrelevant to his son. It is yet another point that illustrates that coaching your own child is fraught with peril.
