- Aryna Sabalenka is not a fan of the new pods on the Australian Open court
- The pods only hold four people, which isn't even enough for all of their trainers.
- The 26-year-old opted to have her team in the traditional players' box.
Defending champion Aryna Sabalenka beat Sloane Stephens before training with the Australian Open's breakthrough.
At this year's tournament, coaches can sit directly on the court, just a few meters from the playing surface. These 'pods' are equipped with cooling fans and screens for statistical analysis. But only four seats are allocated and only tennis support staff can sit there: agents, friends and family must remain in the stands.
Sabalenka refused to use the new feature, preferring to have her entire team gathered in the traditional player box.
“Honestly, I'm not a big fan of this decision,” said the 26-year-old Belarusian. 'Or if you do that, then make more seats. I personally like to see the whole team. I want to see all the people in my box. For me that is important.
'Sometimes I just want to seek support from my boyfriend, for example. I just didn't want to have to look at the coach first and then look into the box. I have many coaches. Four seats are not enough!
'So we decided to put everyone in the box. Maybe they were a little cramped in there and weren't comfortable, but I felt comfortable seeing them all.
Aryna Sabalenka criticized new four-seat coaching pods at Australian Open
Due to the capsule's limited capacity, the rest of Sabalenka's entourage had to sit in the stands.
The Belarusian comfortably defeated Sloane Stephens, in the first step to defend her title
Sabalenka also felt comfortable on court, beating former US Open champion Stephens 6-3, 6-2 to extend her winning streak here in Melbourne to 15 matches.
The Australian Open is the most innovative of the Grand Slams and that is its strong point, but tennis players tend to feel uncomfortable with changes and it remains to be seen if they like group life.
Communication between player and coach during games was traditionally prohibited, but those rules have been gradually relaxed in recent years, and the latest tranche of changes pretty much amounts to anything goes. From early 2025, coaches will even be able to access real-time “player analysis” statistics on the pitch.
So in that sense, the 'pods', which are the brainchild of Australian Open director Craig Tiley, are the natural next step. Coaches will have microphones to enhance the TV viewing experience, especially if Andy Murray decides to sit there this morning (Monday) for Novak Djokovic's first match.
Stefanos Tsitsipas is perhaps the biggest beneficiary of the new rules, as his father Apostolos was an incorrigible communicator even when banned.
And the Greek was more positive than Sabalenka about the pods. “I laughed when I saw them, it's strange but I'll get acclimatised and it's definitely something that will be great for tennis,” said the No. 11 seed. “It will offer something new and innovative.”
A personal vision? Tennis is a gladiatorial sport and players should be left to solve their problems alone. But if coaching is allowed, then the right thing to do is to do everything possible with data analysis and, most importantly, with microphones so that viewers can listen.