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Serena's coach says in-match instruction should be allowed

Julian Finney / Getty Images Sport / Getty

Serena Williams' coach says in-match coaching should be allowed in tennis to help the sport's popularity.

Patrick Mouratoglou, who admitted he used banned hand signals to try to help Williams during her loss in the U.S. Open final, wrote Thursday in a posting on Twitter that legalizing coaching and making it part of the spectacle would let ''viewers enjoy it as a show'' and ''ensure that it remains pivotal in the sport.''

Mouratoglou also pointed to what he called a ''hypocrisy'' - players currently are getting coached at tournaments that ban coaching.

And he pointed out that all sorts of individual sports - boxing, golf, cycling - permit athletes to consult someone during competition.

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