What has led Sinner to do without part of his team two days before Wimbledon?

Jose Morón | 30 Jun 2025 | 13.33

What has led Sinner to part ways with part of his team two days before Wimbledon? Photo: Getty

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Just two days before the start of Wimbledon, Jannik Sinner surprised with the official announcement of the break-up with Ulises Badio and Marco Panichi, who had been his physio and fitness coach until then. Speculation has been rife over the weekend. What could have been the real reason behind such an abrupt separation just two days before such an important tournament like Wimbledon?

From Italy, there are various reports. Some say that Jannik might not have been comfortable with Panichi's character. They say that his way of being clashed a lot with Vagnozzi's, a person in whom the tennis player has complete trust. While the coach is fiery and very emotional, the trainer is a very calm and introverted person, and there may have been some clashes in that regard. An interview by Panichi during Jannik's participation in Halle, without the player's permission, could have been the last straw.

Other reports point to a lack of agreement on how to approach their work methods. During his three-month break, Jannik and his team developed a specific training plan to be in the best shape for the end of the clay court season, but after what was seen at the Roland Garros final, it seems that plan might have been insufficient. Words from Berrettini, a friend of Sinner, saying that "sometimes players see things one way and our team sees them another way, and that lack of agreement sometimes leads paths to separate," would support this theory.

The reason could be different

It doesn’t quite add up for me that Jannik would dismiss Panichi over an interview or a disagreement with Vagnozzi. It would make sense to me that Marco would leave, but not Ulises, although I understand that Sinner saw them as a duo, inseparable from each other. However, I feel there should be something more.

From my point of view, this decision seems to be rushed due to something similar to what happened at the end of 2021. There, Sinner faced Alcaraz in Paris-Bercy and felt very inferior to Carlos. That led him, a couple of months later, to break ties with Piatti in order to form a new team first with Vagnozzi and then with Cahill.

After the Roland Garros final, Sinner might have seen himself falling behind his biggest rival in terms of physical strength. While it's true that the Italian has made great progress in this aspect compared to previous years, he still lags far behind Alcaraz in physical terms. The significant drop he experienced after the second set might have caused him to lose faith in Panichi and his way of working.

In fact, Panichi did not return to the team after Roland Garros. Sinner, who revealed he spent several nights thinking about what happened in the Paris final, would want to change the way he has been working physically. Content with the progress made but wanting to step up and narrow the gap with Carlos in that area, hence the decision he made.

The reason for doing this two days before Wimbledon could be due to Jannik, understanding that they would be on different paths in terms of work, not wanting to have someone by his side who sees things differently. Sinner has never been one to just drift along and has preferred to surround himself with someone he trusts, like Andrea Cipolla, an osteopath, waiting to see how Wimbledon goes and what decision he will make regarding these two pieces of his team for what lies ahead.

This, as I mentioned, is my opinion based on Sinner's statements this weekend and what is being reported in Italy. This, from my perspective, would be what fits best as the reason behind this decision and the timing of its occurrence.

This news is an automatic translation. You can read the original news, ¿Qué ha llevado a Sinner a prescindir de parte de su equipo a dos días de Wimbledon?