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Andy Murraynaming as Novak Djokovic‘s coach has taken the tennis world by storm Australian Open – just as the new innovation will allow fans to see and hear the interaction between players and their teams like never before.
At this year’s tournament, which is also the first for tennis at Grand Slam tournaments, the Australian Open introduced “coaching units” on the side of the court. The new areas allow players to seat up to four members of their support staff directly at pitch level, located at opposite corners of the pitch.
The new ‘coaching units’ will not completely replace the traditional boxes where the players’ support teams, as well as friends, family and wider entourage, can watch their matches from higher heights in the stands. The players can ask their teams to sit in the box if they want, but Djokovic said Murray will join him on the court.
The former rivals, who met in four Australian Open finals, did first time working together in a tournament while Djokovic is trying to win a record 25th Grand Slam title in Melbourne. Murray has already said that he is ready to face the full force of Djokovic’s frustrations, if Serbian wants to extend in his direction during stressful moments.
“I think it’s great that the Australian Open has introduced the trainer’s box to the court on the same level in the corner,” said Djokovic, who faces American wildcard Nises Basavaredi in his opening match on Monday. “That’s where Andy and the coaching staff will be sitting.”
‘Coaching modules’ include screens that allow coaches to access real-time match data and statistics. In-game coaching has been allowed in tennis since the 2022 US Open, somewhat controversial for a sport that once prided itself on players having to work out tactical battles on their own.
Not all players used the coaching dugout on the opening day of the tournament on Sunday. The other men’s No. 2, Alexander Zverev, had his coaches, father Alexander Sr. and brother Misha, sitting courtside during his first-round win over Lucas Pouille, but Arina Sabalenka had her team sitting in the players’ box in the stands.
The defending champion explained that she doesn’t want part of her team to be at the court level and other people in her support network to be in a different place, and her opinion was echoed in a similar way by the 12th tennis player in the world, Stefanos Tsitsipas.
“I actually laughed when I saw them,” he said. “I don’t know, it’s a little strange. In that box, I see my coaches and some other team members, and the others are upstairs, which I’m not used to. I guess I’ll acclimate at some point.”
Australian Open tournament director Craig Tiley admitted some coaches were “skeptical” about the new court surfaces, but added he expected most players would opt to use them during the Grand Slam.
“You have a great line of sight to your player after every point. When they come and get their towel, you can talk to them, so you’re almost, in fact, able to coach your player after every point if you want to,” Tiley said.
“There are very different views in our sport about whether a coach should be allowed on the field or not,” he said. “I was a proponent of allowing the coach to play on the field, just because it adds to the whole story, the whole show, and every other sport has that.
“We think it’s going to create bigger stories with the coaches, a more interesting narrative, give the coaches more profile, and there’s a good chance we’re going to see some things that are down there that are pretty interesting.”