“We didn’t know if he could play”: Jannik Sinner’s coach reveal pre-match illness at Australian Open

Darren Cahill revealed that Jannik Sinner almost withdrew from the Australian Open before facing Holger Rune in the fourth round. The world No. 1 faced health issues that even became apparent during the match, though it was not known at the time that the Italian was close to not playing.

The Australian coach, who will retire at the end of the 2025 season, commented that his player looked "like a white sheet" before the match, forcing them to cancel practice ahead of his clash with the 13th seed Rune.

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Despite the difficulties, Sinner secured the victory 6-3, 3-6, 6-3, 6-2, winning 82% of points on his first serve and 79% on his second. He also converted 4 of 8 break point opportunities while conceding just 1 of 5 to Rune.

During the third set, Sinner faced significant issues that forced him to request a medical time-out, leaving the court to receive treatment. Against Rune, he conceded one of only two sets he lost throughout the tournament (the first against local player Tristan Schoolkate in the second round).

"Jannik was white as a sheet. He was lucky to pull through, helped by several breaks, as the match was played in the heat of the day," Darren Cahill admitted in a recent interview with Super Tennis. "He was very ill. We didn't know if he'd be able to take his place on the court. He was so sick."

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"We knew the night before that he wasn't feeling well, so he went to bed early. We cancelled his training. I think he was due to play around 2:30 the next day. We had a practice scheduled for the next morning and cancelled it and moved it to noon, and when he came on court he was really pale."

The 59-year-old coach added that Sinner wasn’t even able to hit before the match. "We cancelled all the training sessions, went to the doctor, and they gave him some gels to boost his energy," Cahill said. "He rested, took an ice bath, and showed up on court without having been able to train."

Sinner defeated Rune on Monday, January 20, overcoming his health problems. From then on, he didn’t drop a set, defeating Alex de Minaur two days later in the quarterfinals (6-3, 6-2, 6-1). He went on to claim the title with straight-sets wins over Ben Shelton (7-6, 6-2, 6-2) and Alexander Zverev (6-3, 7-6, 6-3).

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