“I can say honestly my coaches didn’t coach from stands” Todd Woodbridge and Patrick Mouratoglou engage in a war of words after ATP legalised off-court coaching

Things got ugly between 22-time Grand Slam winner Todd Woodbridge and tennis coach Patrick Mouratoglou after the Australian reacted to the French coach’s tweet accepting ATP’s latest decision to try out off-court coaching for the remainder of the season with various clauses included in the decision that will see coaches passing on instructions to their players from designated seats when they are on the same side and ensure that no hindrance is caused to the opponents.

The decision has been met with mixed reception so far as many believe top players can benefit from this due to the experienced coaches they will have. Others have argued that with instances of off-court coaching being caught by the chair umpires, better to make it legalise rather than debate around it disturbing the tempo of the match and leading to unwarranted controversies.

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“Trying to make me look bad?” Asks Patrick Mouratoglou to Todd Woodbridge

Welcoming the decision, Mouratoglou tweeted, “Congratulations to the ATP for “legalizing” a practice that has been going on at almost every match for decades. No more hypocrisy.” Replying to it, Woodbridge said, “This is so disappointing to see that such a high profile coach blatantly admits that he has broken the rules of our sport for so long,” sparking a debate on the social media platform.

Patrick retorted by saying, “This is a particularly bad one from you Todd. You have been on tour for a long time. Why do you deny the evidence of the coaching happening every day on the courts? To purposely trying to make me look bad and accusing me? This is disappointing,” to which Woodbridge had a strong reply saying, “Well I can honestly say my coaches didn’t coach from the stand.”

In a sarcastic manner, Patrick replied, “You are such a role model. I wish I would be you. Maybe in my next life. And by the way, learn to read. I never wrote that I was doing what you pretend I wrote.”

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