Coco Gauff’s former coach suggests new tennis rule after Jannik Sinner’s withdrawal from the Paris Masters
The world number one Jannik Sinner was on track for an eighth title of the year before illness ruled him out of Paris.
A stunning recent display has seen the Italian pick up 25 wins in his last 26, with his only defeat coming to Carlos Alcaraz in a nail-biting three set Beijing Open final.
With a double over Novak Djokovic in October at the Shanghai Masters and the Six Kings Slam, Jannik Sinner has made abundantly clear he’s here to stay.
Picking up his first two Grand Slam titles this year too have solidified his status as the best hard-court player on the tour.
However, after a frantic few months, health has caught up with the Italian and with both the ATP Finals and Davis Cup on the horizon, he has decided to let his body rest before one final push.
Brad Gilbert suggests rule change after Jannik Sinner’s withdrawal
Relieved of his coaching duties of Coco Gauff after a disappointing US Open, Brad Gilbert may be expecting a call soon – after all, coaching changes seem all the rage at the moment.
After Sinner withdrew, his opponent, Lucky Loser and French hopeful Arthur Cazaux, was given a free pass into the next round.
With the event not completely equipped for the prospect of very late drop-outs, Gilbert suggested an alteration the ATP could make.
He said on X: “Draw change I would definitely like to see on ATP Tour. When a top seed pulls out, even after draw started, in this case Sin City [Jannik Sinner], allowing LL [Lucky Loser] to move into 2nd rd, I would put a 9-16 seed into that 1st spot who had not played yet, better balance for the draw.
New tennis rules have not been too popular recently!
The ITF’s plans to introduce off-court coaching from 2025 was met with fierce opposition from a number of fans and high-profile-profile players alike.
Frequent ATP critic Denis Shapovalov said he was ‘sad’ at the rule change, suggesting an important aspect of the game would effectively become redundant – problem solving by yourself on-court.
The decision from Wimbledon to get rid of line judges after 147 years was also received poorly by angry fans.
While Gilbert’s suggestions perhaps look sensible, the way the events are organised and structured, it feels as if little will be done to change it – arguably it’s not that big an issue and might not be worth the hassle.
