Jannik Sinner Fires Two Team Members For Undisclosed Reasons Before Wimbledon | Sports News

Jannik Sinner recently confirmed that he has dismissed two members of his team — fitness coach Marco Panichi and physiotherapist Ulises Badio — who were hired as replacements for those involved in the player’s previous doping case.

However, Sinner chose not to disclose the reasons for this change ahead of Wimbledon.

Sinner, ranked No. 1 for over a year, decided to make this change shortly after his second-round loss at the grass-court tournament in Halle, Germany, this month.

He was also the runner-up to Carlos Alcaraz at the French Open three weeks ago, where he squandered a two-set lead and three match points in a final that lasted five and a half hours.

Sinner admitted he has not yet found replacements for Panichi and Badio, who both had previously worked with Novak Djokovic.

“Nothing seriously bad happened. They did great work for the past three months. Sometimes, things happen,” Sinner said at his pre-tournament news conference.

“There’s no specific reason…The timing obviously isn’t the best, but having done a lot of work together before, it won’t affect this Grand Slam much. I feel well physically and mentally and ready to compete.”

Regarding new team members, Sinner said on Saturday: “I haven’t thought about replacements. It’s not the time to think about my options. But there are many options.”

Play begins Monday at the All England Club, where Sinner reached the quarterfinals in 2024. He will face Luca Nardi in an all-Italian match on Tuesday.

Last year, Sinner tested positive twice for a trace amount of an anabolic steroid in March; the case was not made public until August, shortly before the U.S. Open, which he won for the second of his three Grand Slam titles.

The World Anti-Doping Agency appealed the exoneration, and Sinner agreed to serve a three-month ban that ended right before the Italian Open in May.

(with agency inputs)