I was recently asked by a player "What is the rule regarding talking to your partner in a doubles match"

Well without looking it up I supposed that as long as you do not shout you can say one word commands pretty much when you wanted(back,up,mine,yours,leave), as after playing 35 years of doubles no one has ever complained to me and I have never had to complain to an opponent.

So I have been looking it up and found the following:

In the ITF tennis rules, there is no stated rule regarding talking, but there is a rule about hindrance- meaning that anything that distracts your opponent while they are striking the ball can be called hindrance, and a point can be awarded.But this is at top level.So I then looked at the USTA tennis rules which cover club play in the USA.

Stated in these rules is -

33. Talking during a point.
A player shall not talk while the ball is moving toward the opponent’s side of the court. If the player’s talking interferes with an opponent’s ability to play the ball, the player loses the point. Consider the situation where a player hits a weak lob and loudly yells at his or her partner to get back. If the shout is loud enough to distract an opponent, then the opponent may claim the point based on a deliberate hindrance. If the opponent chooses to hit the lob and misses it, the opponent loses the point because the opponent did not make a timely claim of hindrance.

But remember this is a rule used in the USA and not in Spain or the UK, but I feel it just that any shout made while the opponent is hitting the ball, the point could be claimed, but has to be claimed at that moment.

But if we are to get really into these types of rules then mobil phones that ring during a point,the persons whose phoned rang shall lose that point, but again its up to the opposition to claim it there and then.

What do you think?