The Rules of Tennis
Last Friday I described how Brad Gilbert was once ejected by a court official for attempting to coach with hand signals during one of his son’s tournament matches. That story prompted me to take a look at exactly what the Rules in the USTA Friend at Court have to say about the matter. Gilbert did not disclose the year that his ejection occurred, so I will use the current version of the rules as a basis for discussion.
The actual ITF Rules of Tennis only specify when coaching may and may not occur. That part of the rules does not prescribe any penalties. The consequences for coaching violations are outlined in USTA Regulations IV.D, Table 14. That table contains the Point Penalty System (PPS) for Code Violations. Audible or visible coaching is labeled as “Misconduct” under The Code.
The schedule of penalties is slightly different than the ATP, WTA, and Grand Slam rulebooks which all start with a warning. The first offense in a USTA tournament is supposed to result in a point penalty.
Violations shall be penalized as follows:
Penalties outlined in USTA Regulations IV.D, Table 14
First Offense . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Point
Second Offense . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Game
Third Offense . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Default
By ejecting Gilbert from the match, the USTA official was not following the current rules. However, my own observations is that issuing a warning to the parent is a typical first step by USTA officials. To me it seems like a better option than penalizing a player that is probably less than enthused about the coaching in the first place.
- United States Tennis Association (2021), Friend at Court: Handbook of Rules and Regulations, White Plains, NY
