Henman blasts US Open over controversial coaching plans

Cape Town - Former British No 1 Tim Henman has slammed US Open organisers after they revealed plans to experiment with on-court coaching.

Last month the Grand Slam announced plans to implement a rule change that would allow players to ask for advice from their team between points.

Henman, however, is strongly opposed to the idea and said most past players agree.

“I have spoken to 30 past players about the use of coaches during matches and none of them support it,” he told The Sunday Telegraph.

“To me, that is the tail wagging the dog. It ought to be up to the player to problem solve during a match. 
"One of tennis’s most important points of difference is that it is a one-to-one, gladiatorial sport.”

Another worry for Henman is the growing lack of uniformity between tournaments, with different rules applying to different tournaments.

In recent times, Grand Slams have used different rules governing aspects like the shot-clock and deciding-set tiebreaks, and this would be another one to add to the list.

“I don’t think it reflects well on the game when everybody does their own thing,” added Henman.

“We have got to make sure we don’t become even more disjointed.”