Djokovic Responds To Sinner Surprisingly Splitting With His Former Team Members
NewsSunday, 29 June 2025 at 17:27
Novak Djokovic gave an interesting answer when asked about Jannik Sinner splitting with fitness coach Marco Panichi and physiotherapist Ulises Badio, two men the Serbian has previously worked with.
It seemed like Sinner's partnership with the two men would be long-term. The ATP world No. 1 hired them in September and made apparent physical improvements during the last nine months, which should help him to win more tournaments in the future.
How much stronger Sinner looks, especially since returning from his three-month suspension in May, meant there was widespread surprise on Friday when the departures of Panichi and Badio from his team were confirmed.
In a press conference before Wimbledon, Sinner insisted that nothing bad or dramatic happened behind the scenes, and that he simply wanted to move in another direction. However, the Italian did not want to be very specific about the reasons for the split.
Panichi and Badio had lengthy spells in Djokovic's team before working with Sinner. At a Wimbledon press conference, the 24-time Grand Slam champion admitted that he shared others' widespread surprise about the news, but said that players are different and sometimes want a new approach.
"Both of them (Panichi and Badio) were with me, yeah. Well, it’s quite relative what the right person is, the definition of the right person for a certain player is. We are all different. We all have different physical constitutions or, mentally, we’re, I guess, used to a certain way of working."
"Some people are a little bit more flexible mentally to maybe go out and be open-minded and learn new things and change the way they grew up, for example, of how to do fitness or how to play tennis. Some people like to keep working with people that are aligned with their style of tennis, with their physical work and stuff like this."
"I don’t know what the reasons are for the split with Jannik. It came as a surprise to me as well because I think Jannik’s game and body really has improved so much in the last year, year and a half. They’ve been an integral part of that team. I don’t know, to be honest. But changes happen."
Djokovic can relate to making a change and having long-term team members. He split with Andy Murray after only a few months of working together, but others have been with him for several years.
"But as somebody that also has made changes, I understand that sometimes you just are not aligned anymore in whatever of these – how can I say – avenues of thinking or whatever. Then you just split. Maybe you’re looking for something new, something different, some fresh."
"It just depends. Somebody likes to, like, be comfortable. When you have tennis or fitness coaches or physios that have been with you there for a long time, like I have, half my team has been with me for very long time, it also gives you emotional stability. It gives you a sense of comfort, security, and also strength in that record."
It will be fascinating to observe how Sinner plays at the 2025 Wimbledon Championships after making the change. He and Djokovic hope to stop Carlos Alcaraz from winning a third consecutive title.
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