After an impressive tenure that has seen him work with several top superstars in the tennis circuit, renown coach Darren Cahill announced he will cease full-time coaching at the end of his partnership with World No.1 Jannik Sinner.
During his outstanding career, Cahill has helped four players reach the World No.1 position; Lleyton Hewitt, Andre Agassi, Simona Halep and Sinner. The Australian coach began working with Sinner in 2022, and has helped guide the Italian to Grand Slam glory during their collaboration.
Sinner likely to be his last full-time mentee, reveals Cahill
The 59-year old has lent his experience and knowledge to Sinner, working alongside Simone Vagnozzi to guide the 23-year old during his stellar run of play over the past year. However, Cahill disclosed he would likely stop coaching full-time at the end of his partnership with Sinner, but remained vague when asked if he knew how long they would keep working together.
"There's always a right time to get a new voice, get new inspiration, a new set of eyes. ... but everything is going really well with us at the moment," said the Australian.
Furthermore, Cahill had high praise for Sinner regarding the Italian's response to the controversy surrounding his doping violation.
"He's playing with a clear conscience and he's been doing it since April," Cahill said. "We don't know what the future holds and we'll just keep trying to embrace him and support him. … He's been inspirational. To be working with him at the moment and to watch him accomplish what he's accomplished is pretty special."
With Sinner competing in front of his home crowd at the ATP Finals in Turin, the Italian is facing tremendous pressure to lift the title. Cahill believes Sinner has the personality to handle everything that comes his way, and is well-deserving of his spot as the best player in the world.
"You need to be a special type of person to be able to embrace all that pressure and come here and feel the pressure but still be able to perform at your very best," said Cahill. "It's a huge step to be able to do what he's done in the last 12 months and to consistently do it time and time again. "But the more you win against the best players in the world, the more belief you gain in yourself as a player. … It's been a great learning year for him."