Jannik Sinner’s coach addresses their future after Wimbledon agreement wrecked plans | Tennis | Sport

Jannik Sinner is enjoying another history-making season. The Italian recently became the first man ever to win five consecutive Masters 1000 tournaments, having lifted trophies in Paris, Indian Wells, Miami, Monte Carlo, and Madrid. He’s now going for his sixth in a row at his home tournament, the Italian Open.

The world No. 1 is through to the round of 16 and is just two wins away from breaking Novak Djokovic’s record for most consecutive match wins at the Masters events. And if he is crowned the champion in Rome this weekend, he’ll join Djokovic as just the second man to win all nine Masters 1000s.

Sinner has already downplayed comparisons to Djokovic, Roger Federer and Rafael Nadal, insisting that he is simply trying to make history for his team. But the future of one of those team members still remains unclear, after his 2025 Wimbledon triumph changed some plans.

Renowned Aussie tennis coach Darren Cahill has been working with Sinner since 2022, but last January, he announced that 2025 would be their last year together. However, when Sinner won Wimbledon, Cahill confessed that they’d made an agreement – the 24-year-old could decide his fate if he lifted the trophy at the All England Club.

The end of 2025 came around, and Sinner made it clear he still wanted Cahill on board alongside his other coach, Simone Vagnozzi. The Australian remains a key part of the team, but it’s not known how long he’ll be sticking around after delaying his retirement from coaching.

Cahill has now addressed their future together, revealing that they hadn’t made a similar agreement but would again reconvene at the end of the season to make a decision. “Let’s see… I didn’t think I’d be coaching Jannik in 2026, and yet here I am,” he told La Gazzetta dello Sport.

“For now, there’s no bet; my goal is to do the best job possible for Sinner and the team this year. Then we’ll talk at the end of the season, like we did last year, and we’ll decide, with complete peace of mind.”

Cahill has also worked with the likes of Andre Agassi, Simona Halep, and Andy Murray. While he doesn’t know when he’ll leave Team Sinner, he confirmed that the world No. 1 would “absolutely, 100 per cent” be the last player he coached.

The 60-year-old has also given plenty of credit to Vagnozzi over the years, explaining that he was mostly responsible for Sinner’s game. “Simone is the main coach. I think the reason our relationship works so well is that our roles are fairly well-defined, yet intertwined in many ways,” he explained.

“Simone and I discuss everything about Jannik, both technically and emotionally. He tries to learn from me in some areas, and I’m learning from him in many others, because he has an incredible technical eye, better than mine. He can see technical aspects of the game that very few coaches can. And he sees them very early, very clearly. But above all, he manages to convey them to the player so he can understand them and put them into practice.”

Cahill may not yet know when he will stop working with Sinner, Vangozzi and the rest of the squad, but they’re still enjoying plenty of success together. The world No. 1 will face his countryman, qualifier Andrea Pellegrino, for a place in the Italian Open quarter-finals on Tuesday. Looking ahead, Sinner is also hoping to complete the career Grand Slam by winning the upcoming French Open.

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