Novak Djokovic has now commented on world number one Jannik Sinner, who has some big questions hanging over him ahead of Wimbledon.
Sinner lost to Alexander Bublik in his last match ahead of Wimbledon this year, something that he has not been used to during his time as the dominant world number one.
Following that defeat, Sinner then split with two of his coaches in a shock announcement ahead of the grass court major.
Reacting to this news, Djokovic has now given his verdict on Sinner’s decision.
Novak Djokovic reacts to Jannik Sinner’s decision to part ways with coaches ahead of Wimbledon
Sinner split with fitness trainer Marco Panichi and physiotherapist Ulises Badio, who he had only worked with since September 2024.
Both Panichi and Badio had also previously worked with Djokovic for a long period, and the Serbian was asked about the split in his pre-tournament press conference.
In his response, Djokovic was full of praise for his former coaches as professionals, and admitted Sinner’s decision did take him by surprise.
“Well, it’s quite relative what the definition of the right person for a certain player is,” said Djokovic. “We are all different, we all have different physical constitution or mentally, we’re, you know, I guess used to a certain way of working and 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. And some people just like to keep, you know, working with people that are aligned with their style of tennis, with their physical work and stuff like this. So it’s really there’s so many different differences with players.
“I did work with Marco and Ulises, and I think they are phenomenal professionals, they both have contributed also a lot to my team, my success.
“I don’t know what the reasons are of the split with Jannik to be honest. It came out as a surprise to me as well, to be honest, because I think that Jannik’s game and body really has improved so much in the last year, year and a half, and they’ve been an integral part of that team.
“So I don’t know, to be honest, but changes happen. It doesn’t necessarily only relate to your professional relationship. It could be something private. It could be many different factors that are deciding whether you want to stay working somewhere or not.
“But as somebody that also has made changes, I understand that, you know, sometimes, you know, you just not aligned anymore in whatever of these… how can I say, avenues of thinking or whatever, and then you just split, and then you’re looking well, maybe you’re looking for something new, something different, something fresh.”
Jannik Sinner reveals what caused split with his two coaches
This decision was also one of the big talking points in Sinner’s pre-tournament press conference, with the Italian claiming that nothing big happened.
“Nothing major happened. Nothing big happened,” said Sinner. “I parted ways not long ago, but it’s not affecting me. I feel ready to compete. I feel free. I feel me and my team, we are ready to do the best we can.
“We’ve reached incredible results in the past with them, so obviously huge thanks to them. We made some great job, but I decided to do something different. Look, in this sport things can happen. Sometimes a player feels something different, and that’s my case.”
Not only will he be looking to move on from this split, but Sinner will also look to move past the Roland Garros final that he lost in five sets to Carlos Alcaraz, despite having three championship points.
Sinner will look to showcase his grass court game in the first round at Wimbledon against his compatriot Luca Nardi.
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