With coaches Darren Cahill and Simone Vagnozzi in his corner, Sinner became, to put it simply, a complete player. If you ask his foes, they’ve all noticed the improvements, but tend to emphasize different parts of the Italian’s game.
Since changing his motion, Sinner displayed more variety in his serve as it became more precise and consistent. At 23 years old now, he has grown into his body and his endurance has improved, as well as his movement. Sinner can easily change the direction of the ball from both sides and he’s worked hard on keeping opponents guessing with the occasional drop shot. What’s scary is that Sinner feels that his game is still a work in progress, but combined with his calm demeanor and mental fortitude, now he is able to win on bad days too, which is the trait of a great player.
It’s not that Sinner’s 2024 was without its struggles, though. He tested positive twice for low levels of a metabolite of Clostebol. Despite being cleared by the International Tennis Integrity Agency (ITIA), the World Anti-Doping Agency (WADA) declared in September that it lodged an appeal to the Court of Arbitration for Sport (CAS) seeking a period of ineligibility of one to two years.
“You would have seen a big change in his physicality and excitement to be on the court, it wore him down physically and mentally. He got tonsillitis (and) missed the Olympics,“ said Cahill on the eve of the US Open, when the news about the tests became public.
Many people rightfully wondered whether that would have any effect on Sinner on the court, but he proved them wrong by winning the US Open in dominant fashion, losing only two sets along the way.
He went on to win the Shanghai Masters and then lost only 33 games in five matches en route to lifting the Nitto ATP Finals trophy in Turin.
Greatest Win: After a strong finish to the 2023, the question at the Australian Open was whether Sinner’s body and game can hold up over the course of a best-of-five match. He didn’t lose a set until the semi-finals, where he dominated ten-time champion Novak Djokovic, not allowing him a single break point—6-1, 6-2, 6-7(6), 6-3. In the final, he held his nerve facing defeat, with veteran-like composure he came from 0-2 down and beat Daniil Medvedev 3-6, 3-6, 6-4, 6-4, 6-3 to clinch his maiden major trophy.
What If Moment: There are two. Firstly, Sinner was obviously not at 100 percent in his loss to Medvedev in the quarter-finals of Wimbledon, so we missed out on another Sinner—Alcaraz thriller. Secondly, he didn’t get a chance to chase the Olympic medal, but he’s probably got at least three more shots at the golden glory.
Look Ahead: Sinner is not the type to rest on his laurels, you can expect him to work even harder now that he has a target on his back as a convincing world No 1. Also, he had a 0-3 record against Carlos Alcaraz in 2024—all the matches have been close and Sinner will certainly be eager to turn the tables.
Dan Evans would love to see Andy Murray share his wisdom with future generations of British tennis players.Evans was by the former British number one’s side
In the quarterfinals at the Great Ocean Road Open on Wednesday, Tommy Paul (ranked No. 12) meets Rinky Hijikata (No. 79). Paul carries -400 odds to br
The 2025 Australian Open is now just a few days away, as players gear up for the first Grand Slam of the season.WTA tennis is back, and fans are ready for anot
On Wednesday, Tommy Paul (No. 12 in the world) takes on Rinky Hijikata (No. 79) in the quarterfinals at the Great Ocean Road Open. Paul most recently c