Follow us on Google Discover The 2025 Grand Slam season saw a number of changes made to each of the four prestigious majors.
For the first time in its 148-year history, Wimbledon did not feature line judges and adopted electronic line-calling, becoming the third Grand Slam to implement the technology, with Roland Garros the only tournament yet to make the change.
The US Open saw the debut of a new-look mixed doubles competition, pitting the sport’s biggest names against each other in a reimagined format during ‘fan week’ at Flushing Meadows, which was, by most accounts, a great success.
At the start of the year, the Australian Open unveiled its latest innovation, which Iga Swiatek‘s coach, Wim Fissette, thinks was ‘perfect’.
Photo by Daniel Kopatsch/Getty ImagesWim Fissette hails the Australian Open for ‘perfect’ change
In Melbourne, courtside ‘coaching pods’ were introduced, with the Australian Open becoming the first Grand Slam to make such a change.
The pods allowed players to have up to four members of their team to sit at court level, with the two areas situated at opposite corners of the tennis court.
Many players were fans of the new-look coaching box, including Novak Djokovic, who called it ‘a great idea’.
Fissette, who guided Swiatek to the semifinals of this year’s Australian Open, agrees with the 24-time major champion.
Photo by DAVID GRAY/AFP via Getty Images
In an interview on the ‘Inside-In’ podcast, the Belgian said: “I love the on-court coaching. I love the fact that you can have an impact on a match and help the player.
“I still think that we have a long way to go to make things better in this coaching world. The Australian Open this year was for me the perfect scenario.
“I was hoping that all the other tournaments, especially the Slams, would be inspired by the great idea that the Australian Open had, but unfortunately, we did not see it at other tournaments.
“But I really hope that this could be the standard. Coaching is allowed, but we need to have the opportunity to coach, so if we are far from the players, we can’t coach.”
In October last year, the International Tennis Federation (ITF) announced that courtside coaching would be allowed in tennis during the 2025 season.
The change meant that coaches can now give their players advice either verbally or via hand gestures at any time within a match, except during a point.
Fissette continued: “In all the other sports, you have the field, the court or the pitch, and you have the players and a coaching box. There should be a certain standard in tennis.
“When you want to organise a tennis event, well, you also need the coaching box. It’s not the seats that don’t sell, you give to the coach. It’s the spot where the coach can really see the game and have access to the player to coach.
“That is what we need, so the Australian Open was perfect, and I hope that this could be the standard.”
Photo by Cameron Spencer/Getty ImagesSome stars disagreed with the coaching pods in Melbourne
Not everyone liked the change at the Australian Open, however, including two-time champion Aryna Sabalenka.
Sabalenka made her feelings clear on the coaching pod when, in her opening match at the tournament, she had her team sit in the player’s box in the stands.
The world number one later explained that she did not want her coaching team to sit in one place and her family in another.
Former Grand Slam finalist Stefanos Tsitsipas agreed with Sabalenka and said he laughed when he saw them for the first time, calling the pods ‘kind of weird’.
As of now, none of the other three Grand Slam events has decided to emulate the Australian Open’s creation.