Todd Woodbridge criticizes Serena Williams' former coach Patrick Mouratoglou over his comments on off-court coaching

After the ATP announced on Tuesday that they will allow off-court coaching for the second half of the season, Serena Williams' former coach Patrick Mouratoglou congratulated the ATP for finally legalizing something "that has been going on for decades." Those comments drew criticism from former Australian professional tennis player Todd Woodbridge, who slammed Mouratoglou for blatantly admitting that he has been breaking the rules of tennis for many years.

Mouratoglou, who was Williams' coach for 10 years before their recent split, has often been involved in the off-court coaching debate.

Woodbridge took to social media to express his disappointment over Mouratoglou's words.

"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," Woodbridge wrote on Twitter.

was quick to respond to the 22-time Grand Slam doubles champion, adding that coaching during matches has been common practice by many coaches over the years.

"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," Mouratoglou replied.

Mouratoglou's initial comments, where he welcomed the legalization of off-court coaching, drew a lot of heat from tennis fans on social media.

"So you and the coaches from your academy have been breaking the rules and now you are happy that decent rules that enhance the game and fan experience by requiring the player to problem solve have been dropped! Pathetic!" one such fan wrote.

Off-court coaching has been a big talking point in tennis for a long time, with many players often accusing opponents of receiving coaching during matches. Coaching during matches will now be officially allowed, starting the week of July 11th, 2022.

The ATP has set out certain guidelines for off-court coaching that players and coaches have to follow, including the need for coaches to sit only in designated tournament seats for the same.

How Patrick Mouratoglou split with Serena Williams after a decade of working together

Middle Sunday: The Championships - Wimbledon 2019

Earlier this month, Patrick Mouratoglou detailed the events that led to his split with Serena Williams that brought to an end a 10-year working relationship. Williams had not played since Wimbledon last year and Mouratoglou spoke about their final interaction as 'player and coach' which occurred a few weeks before the 2022 French Open.

"I wanted to be fair to her [Serena Williams] and not be disappointed at the end of my career. I went to ask her what she was going to do. It wasn't very clear to her. I asked her if she wanted to go to Roland Garros. She told me he didn't know. It was six weeks before the tour. I told her I was waiting for her on Monday for training and if she didn't come I would consider myself free," Mouratoglou said.

Mouratoglou also admitted that he was reconsidering his future as a professional tennis coach after the split with Williams.

However, he recently announced a partnership with another former Wimbledon champion in Simona Halep. After a couple of tough seasons, Halep is aiming to find the form that helped her win the Wimbledon title in 2019.

Meanwhile, Serena Williams finally made her much-awaited comeback to tennis earlier this week in the doubles event of the Eastbourne International. She is now being coached by Eric Hechtman, who is also the coach of her sister, 7-time Grand Slam champion Venus Williams.