Ahead of the 2024 Australian Open final, Jannik Sinner opened up about his split from former coach Ricardo Piatti and hiring Darren Cahill. He likened leaving his teenage mentor to taking a leap of faith and revealed they still occasionally meet each other.
Piatti, who has also worked with Maria Sharapova, Milos Raonic, and Novak Djokovic, trained Sinner from the age of 13 to 21. Under the veteran coach’s watchful eyes, the young Italian developed into an exciting prospect. He did well with Piatti, winning the 2019 Next Gen ATP Finals, his first ATP title, and breaking into the top 10.
Despite their success, Sinner and Piatti ended their collaboration in February 2022. Speaking to L’Equipe, the current World No.4 spoke about their split and said they maintain a cordial relationship. He revealed he occasionally crosses paths with Piatti in Monaco and acknowledged the coach’s contribution to his career.
“We stopped (in February 2022), but we’re still on very good terms. When I’m in Monaco, I sometimes bump into him because he likes to go for a walk in the morning. We have a chat. I know how much he’s given me. He passed on a mentality to me, he took me to 9th place in the world, we won tournaments together.”
Sinner disclosed that he felt he could improve further, hence getting Cahill onboard. He admitted it was not easy to terminate his association with Piatti, but he trusted his instincts. He compared it to taking a big risk and jumping into a fire.
“But I felt I could improve in other areas, so I decided to try something else (working with Cahill). And it’s going really well. It was a difficult decision, but deep down I felt it was the right one. When I left Riccardo… In Italian, we have an expression: “I threw myself into the fire.” I jumped in headfirst! Come on, let’s give it a try.”
Sinner’s leap of faith paid wonderful dividends. Cahill and Simone Vagnozzi have propelled him to new highs, including his current career-best rank of World No.4 and his first Grand Slam final at the 2024 Australian Open. He is now considered one of the best players on the planet, an incredible pay-off for the risk he took.
Jannik Sinner talks about how he approaches a decision
Further discussing his decision to part ways with Ricardo Piatti, Sinner shed light on his decision-making process. He said he doesn’t do things impulsively but when he decides to do something, he dedicates himself to doing it. He conceded that such decisions may not always prove to be right but he never regrets it.
“I don’t make decisions like that on the spur of the moment. But when I decide on something, I go for it. Sometimes I’m right, sometimes I’m wrong. But there’s no choice but to go for it. I don’t regret anything.”
Jannik Sinner said the only time he regrets something is when he does not feel happy or confident. However, he claimed having doubts is good since it shows you care. He emphasized that alongside doubts, sufficient self-confidence is also necessary.
“My only regret is when I’m not happy. Sometimes you doubt. If you don’t, you don’t care. Am I good enough? Am I training hard enough? What can I do differently? Better? Doubts are very important. But you also have to have that self-confidence: I deserve to be here, I belong.”
