Sinner Silent on Firing Two Team Members Before Wimbledon

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    In a recent press conference leading up to Wimbledon, Jannik Sinner shared that he has made changes to his coaching staff, parting ways with fitness coach Marco Panichi and physiotherapist Ulises Badio. These changes come on the heels of their involvement as replacements for staff connected to the player’s past doping incident. However, Sinner was reluctant to delve into the specifics of this decision. The Italian tennis star, holding the No. 1 ranking for over a year now, made the decision after his unexpected early exit from the grass-court tournament in Halle, Germany. As of now, Sinner has not appointed new individuals to replace Panichi and Badio, both formerly associated with Novak Djokovic’s team.

    “Nothing seriously bad happened. They did great work for the past three months. Sometimes, things happen,” Sinner mentioned during his pre-tournament briefing. He added, “The timing obviously isn’t the best, but having done a lot of work together before, it won’t affect this Grand Slam a lot. I feel well physically and mentally and ready to compete.”

    As the All England Club opens its doors for play, Sinner looks ahead to his match against Luca Nardi in what promises to be an intriguing all-Italian duel. Sinner has fond memories of his prior run to the quarterfinals in 2024 at Wimbledon.

    Last year, Sinner faced doping challenges when he tested positive twice for a trace amount of the anabolic steroid Clostebol. The details of the case remained under wraps until August, right before the U.S. Open, which he subsequently captured, marking it his second of three Grand Slam victories. Initially, Sinner was acquitted under the explanation that the substance was introduced to his system accidentally through a massage carried out by his former physiotherapist, Giacomo Naldi. His fitness coach at the time, Umberto Ferrara, had bought a product in Italy meant for a cut on Naldi’s finger, which leads to Sinner’s unintentional exposure due to the absence of gloves during treatment.

    The World Anti-Doping Agency challenged the original ruling, resulting in Sinner agreeing to sit out a three-month suspension that concluded just before the Italian Open in May. At the press conference, when repeatedly questioned about his separation from Panichi and Badio, Sinner commented, “There’s not one specific thing.”

    Reflecting on recent events, Sinner managed a runner-up finish to Carlos Alcaraz at the French Open, falling short after squandering a two-set advantage and three championship points in a grueling final lasting over five hours. As for bringing in new team members, Sinner confessed, “I haven’t thought about replacements. It’s not the time to think about my options. But there are a lot of options.”