Coaches in tennis have one of the odder existences in sports. Some players go for long periods without even using one, and others change coaches like socks.
It was, by the usually secretive standards of coach-player relationships in tennis, an unorthodox move.
Simona Halep of Romania had just lost in the second round of the French Open, suffering a panic attack after leading by a set and up a service break on the Chinese teenager Zheng Qinwen.