Since when Jannik the Sinner announced that Darren Cahill would retire from coaching at the end of 2025, there have been mixed messages as to whether the venerable Aussie will indeed be leaving.
Throughout the season Sinner has not hidden that he would like Cahill to stay.
The Aussie has been part of Sinner’s team since July 2022 and has overseen Sinner’s rise from a quirky and unproven star on the rise to a four-time major champion who is considered to be the equal of world-beating Carlos Alcaraz at the top of the men’s game.
After winning the Wimbledon title in July, he told reporters he had won a bet with Cahill and will have the power to veto Cahill’s decision to quit.
“We had a bet before the final,” Sinner said after beating Alcaraz in the Wimbledon final. “He said, ‘If you win tomorrow, you can decide whether I stay or not’. Now the choice is mine. I’ve always looked for a person who is honest, a person who gives me a lot, not necessarily just on the tennis court, but (in) how I live.”
I’m not sure if that’s true, but we’ll find out soon enough.
Meanwhile, Sinner continues to tell the press that he would really like to keep Cahill in the mix.
“We haven’t spoken yet, to be honest,” when we spoke to ATP Media about the future of the partnership as he prepared for this week’s Erste Bank Open in Vienna. “We said we’ll finish the year and then we can ask him for a long talk, trying to convince him.”
“But in any case, whether he stays or not, he’s been a great person and definitely a coach for me to keep the whole team together in difficult moments. He’s like a second father to me, so I’m happy to have him here. It’s a great privilege to work with him. We’re aiming for something very positive (Cahill staying with the team) and for that it will take more.”
