Even though Jannik Sinner is not playing tennis this week, he is in the news. A few days ago, he reinstituted his fitness coach Umberto Ferrara. Ferrara was the person who bought the first aid spray with the banned substance that got Sinner into failed doping tests and ultimately a suspension.
On Friday, a rumor circulated from a credible Twitter handle, Olly Tennis, to its 53,000+ followers that Sinner’s coach Darren Cahill would not be at the US Open. He would be taking a break. Olly Tennis was citing an Italian publication called la Repubblica as the source. Tennis World also reported the news.
❌🇺🇸🇮🇹 Darren Cahill will NOT be at the US Open helping to coach Jannik Sinner, and will, instead, take a short break
🗣️ https://t.co/ewP6mOAUPW
📸 Andrew Eichenholz/ATP Tour pic.twitter.com/l6XLSD29He— Olly Tennis 🎾🇬🇧 (@Olly_Tennis_) July 25, 2025
This rumor was odd for several reasons. First, Sinner is the defending US Open champion. Unless there was an emergency, he would want one of his main coaches with him at the last Grand Slam of the year. Second, Cahill does television work for ESPN so it would be unusual for him to not be on the air with the network which televises the US Open. Third, Sinner recently talked about working out a way to keep Darren Cahill on his team in 2026 and delaying his retirement. Cahill is reportedly staying on the Sinner team but will not travel as much next year.
Brad Gilbert was among the first to deem the news not true which was acknowledged by Olly Tennis.
👇 Brad refuting the la Repubblica story, seems Cahill may be in New York after all 🇺🇸🇮🇹 https://t.co/bAkVYSgzoo
— Olly Tennis 🎾🇬🇧 (@Olly_Tennis_) July 25, 2025
Unfortunately Jannik Sinner Did Not Silence His Critics By Winning Wimbledon
Sinner’s Wimbledon win should have silenced his critics, but it does not seem like it did. Everyone is questioning his decisions about his team and are still re-litigating his failed doping tests.
While professional tennis has a horrible and inconsistent system for dealing with failed doping tests, this should not be put on Sinner’s shoulders. He dealt with a lot in 2024 and early 2025. Sinner is the World No. 1 and should be allowed to play without all of this additional scrutiny.
If he and his team are wise, they are tuning out to social media and all of the naysayers and focusing on the last Grand Slam of the year since Sinner has won three of the last four Grand Slams.
