Jannik Sinner’s telling moment with coach Darren Cahill’s wife amid sad reality

Sunday night’s Australian Open final represented the last time Jannik Sinner and coach Darren Cahill worked together in Australia. And nothing epitomises their bond like how close Sinner also is with his Aussie coach’s family.

There was a telling moment that not many saw after Sinner’s victory over Ben Shelton in their semi-final on Friday night, when the Italian embraced Cahill’s wife Victoria in the halls of Rod Laver Arena. The sweet moment was picked up on Channel 9 cameras, and showed Victoria hugging Sinner after he’d advanced to the final.

Speaking on Channel 9, Todd Woodbridge said it showed how close Sinner is with the entire Cahill family, and the World No.1 made mention of them when he announced this year would be Cahill’s last as his coach. “I feel very, very lucky and happy to be his last player on tour,” Sinner said earlier in the tournament.

“He has been an amazing, amazing coach and person, not only for me but for all the other players he has worked with. He has a beautiful family, so many great things to come for him also after his tennis job. Let’s see. But the year is still long.”

Darren Cahill’s resounding success with Jannik Sinner

Cahill is said to be keen on spending more time with family and is now a grandfather. The Aussie makes up one quarter of Sinner’s successful team alongside fellow coach Simone Vagnozzi, physio Giacomo Naldi and fitness trainer Umberto Ferrara.

It came as a big surprise when Sinner split with former coach Riccardo Piatti two years ago, after Piatti guided him through the junior ranks and into senior tennis. But the coaching switch has worked wonders, with Cahill helping Sinner win the Australian and US Open crowns in 2024.

Sinner said he sees his coaching team more than his own family. “When I ask someone to join my team it’s not only if they are the best in their work but also how I feel with them,” he said last year. “For me that is very important because we spend not only the time when we work together, but also at dinner and in the morning.

“I see more of them than my family, so you have to feel very comfortable. They also have to understand my problems, as I sometimes have to understand their problems even if they are a little bit older than I am. It is just important to talk about everything very openly.”

Suspension cloud hanging over Jannik Sinner at Australian Open

The 59-year-old Cahill has also helped Lleyton Hewitt, Andre Agassi and Simona Halep reach their peaks. Speaking before Sunday night’s final, the Aussie praised the way Sinner has conducted himself amid a tumultuous time.

“It’s not easy to come back and defend a major for the first time in your career, and he’s had some stuff to deal with,” said Cahill, referring to a Court of Arbitration for Sport hearing that will take place in April to determine if Sinner should be banned for inadvertently testing positive to a banned steroid last year.

“We couldn’t be prouder of the way that he’s conducted himself, both on and off the court, the fight he’s shown, the resilience. Nobody’s bulletproof – I think we all have moments when it gets to you a little bit, but I think to a large extent he finds playing tennis matches to be his safe place.

“There’s been a lot of pressure around him for the last nine months now, but he deals with it as well as anybody that I’ve ever seen deal with pressure. He’s an amazing young man that’s been able to put that to one side. What will be will be. We don’t know what’s going to happen, but he can always hold his head up high and be proud of what he’s been able to achieve.”

Sinner twice tested positive last March, but successfully appealed a provision ban and was allowed to keep playing. The International Tennis Federation cleared him of any wrongdoing and accepted that his now-sacked masseur had accidentally transferred the steroid into his system by placing it onto his own finger to treat an injury and then failing to wear gloves during a massage.

But the World Anti-Doping Agency has appealed the ITF’s ruling, and Sinner will front the CAS hearing in Switzerland in April. WADA have acknowledged that Sinner wasn’t at fault, but believe he should still be banned (for between 1-2 years) due to negligence on his part that a team member had a banned drug.