Will Darren Cahill Stay? Jannik Sinner Breaks Silence on 2026 Coaching Plans
Jannik Sinner will face Daniel Altmaier in the opening round of the Vienna Open in Austria.
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Darren Cahill and Jannik Sinner (via BBC)
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Jannik Sinner has shared updates about his partnership with coach Darren Cahill as the 2025 season draws closer to an end. The World No.2 had revealed at the beginning of the year that Cahill would part ways with him as his coach after the end of the year, bringing an end to their three-year partnership on tour.
Sinner has made significant progress in his game since hiring Cahill and Simone Vagnozzi into his team in 2022. Under their tutelage, the Italian earned his place on the global stage by winning his first ATP Masters 1000 title at the 2023 Canadian Open, just over a year working with Cahill. That piloted Sinner to win the China Open during the Asian swing.
After beating Carlos Alcaraz en route to the final, the 24-year-old defeated Daniil Medvedev in straight sets to claim the title. Sinner then continued his impressive form in the 2024 season, beating Medvedev in five sets to claim his first Grand Slam title at the Australian Open. That led to his dominance last year, winning seven titles.
He claimed his second career Slam at the US Open in New York later on that season. However, Cahill has been one of the most successful coaches on tour, having partnered with Grand Slam champions such as Simona Halep, Ana Ivanovic, Lleyton Hewitt, and Andre Agassi before joining Sinner’s team.
Sinner is currently at the Erste Bank Open in Vienna, where he’s hoping to win his fourth title of the season. During an interview with the ATP, he admitted that he’s ready to do whatever it takes to convince Cahill to stay by his side next season. The Wimbledon champion added that Cahill has been by his side during the tough moments in his career:
We haven’t talked yet, to be honest. We said we are going to finish the year, and then we might ask him for a long chat, trying to convince him. But in any case, if he stays or not, he has been an amazing person and obviously a coach for me to hold the whole team together in the tough moments. He is like a second father to me, so I’m happy to have him here. It’s a huge privilege to work with him.
Sinner went through a rough patch during the first half of the season as he was suspended for three months for doping after an agreement with the World Anti-Doping Agency (WADA). The Italian star tested positive for clostebol in March 2024 but was cleared by the ITIA before WADA appealed the case to the Court of Arbitration for Sport (CAS).
Jannik Sinner reveals why he needs Darren Cahill to continue as his coach
Jannik Sinner has had a good season by his standards. Despite his three-month suspension from the court, he won the Australian Open and Wimbledon Championships before claiming the China Open in Beijing last month. This year, he became the fourth man in the Open Era to reach the final of all four major tournaments.
However, Sinner’s success story cannot be complete without his coach Darren Cahill. During the aforementioned interview, Sinner was asked how he will convince the Australian coach to stay. He revealed that Cahill needs to continue as his coach as their work together has been a great success:
So I need that. He’s been important because I see the effort he puts in, working with a 24 year old kid flying all over the world and putting in a lot of effort. He has family, he has many, many important things to do also off the court and managing this and always putting me basically in the first place, it has been amazing and I’m very sure we can, we can make something very positive.
Sinner will open his Vienna Open campaign against Daniel Altmaier, with whom he leads 2-1 in their head-to-head. They met at the China Open, where Sinner won in straight sets. The Italian star will be hoping to win the title for the second time after claiming it in 2023, beating Daniil Medvedev in three sets.
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