Jannik Sinner has a golden opportunity to wrap up a watershed 2023 season by lifting the ATP Finals trophy. It has been a season of firsts for the Italian who scaled new heights this year. The team behind the player deserves credit for transforming him from a fledgling, promising youngster to a world-beating elite player.
Jannik Sinner worked with his teenage coach till February 2022. He then onboarded Simone Vagnozzi, who had kept tabs on the World No.4 since he was 14. A couple of months later in July, renowned coach Darren Cahill joined the team. The Australian coach, who was also involved with Roger Federer, has previously worked with Andre Agassi, Lleyton Hewitt, and Simona Halep.
The duo have worked wonders with Sinner. Before them, his biggest achievement was winning the ATP 500 Washington Open in 2021. In about one and a half years, Sinner has become one of the top players in the world. With a massive haul of ATP points since hiring Cahill, he has established himself as a serious contender. He lifted his first ATP 1000 title at the 2023 Canadian Open under the tutelage of Cahill and Vagnozzi. He followed it up with two ATP 500 championships in October and is now one win away from his maiden ATP Finals title.
His rise under the eyes of Vagnozzi and Cahill propelled him to a career-best World No.4 rank. The duo work together to train Sinner but the latter described the Italian coach as “the one that’s really steering the ship” (via ATP Tour). Vagnozzi is more hands-on with his player, sharpening his technical side with daily training sessions. Cahill, meanwhile, also joins them for these sessions but primarily focuses on developing Sinner’s mental side.
The two coaches are joined by physio Giacomo Naldi and fitness coach Umberto Ferrara. The pair is responsible for keeping Sinner in his best shape and warming him up adequately before Cahill and Vagnozzi take over. All four of Sinner’s regular coaching team have a fixed routine that they abide by. His metamorphosis proves that their efforts are paying off.
The old team that developed a young Jannik Sinner
Before completely overhauling his staff, Sinner worked with his teenage coach for eight years. The Italian was trained by Riccardo Piatti from the age of 13 to 21 before Vagnozzi replaced him. Piatti, who had formerly worked with Novak Djokovic and Milos Raonic, developed Sinner into a young talent full of potential.
Piatti was joined by Andrea Volpini and Massimo Sartori, both high-profile coaches in Italy. Sinner continued to work with the former two until he rang in the changes last year. In addition to the 2021 Washington Open, he also finished runner-up in the 2021 Miami Open. This was his best finish in an ATP Masters event before winning the Canadian Open this year under his new coaches.
Sinner also won four ATP 250 titles with Piatti and Volpini. They were aided by physiotherapist Claudio Zimaglia and fitness coach Dalibor Sirola. His initial team got him noticed by the tennis fraternity. But it was his new team headed by Vagnozzi and Cahill that made Jannik Sinner the elite player he is today and will continue to push him to greater heights.
