From Andre Agassi to Jannik Sinner: A look at 4 tennis players who rose to World No. 1 under coach Darren Cahill's guidance
Jannik Sinner has been confirmed as the new World No. 1 in men's tennis after Novak Djokovic failed to defend his French Open title. The Serbian has withdrawn from the tournament after suffering a knee injury, handing the top ranking to Sinner. Now, the Italian has become the fourth player coached by Darren Cahill to reach the summit of world tennis.
Darren Cahill is one of the most renowned tennis coaches in the last two decades. The Australian was a former professional tennis player himself, with his best performance coming at the US Open in 1988 when he reached the semi-finals. Despite his failure to win a Major during his playing days, the Australian has succeeded in coaching his players to Grand Slam glory and the World No. 1 ranking.
Since retiring from professional tennis in 1995, Cahill started working as a coach and helped develop players. The Australian has coached multiple players in both the ATP and WTA and guided them to the top spot in the ranking.
Here is a list of four tennis stars who have reached the World No. 1 ranking under Darren Cahill.
#4. Lleyton Hewitt
Lleyton Hewitt became the youngest player to be the World No. 1 in November 2001. The Aussie was just 20 years old when he reached the top ranking in men's sport. Hewitt won the US Open title in 2001 and followed it up with a Wimbledon win in 2002, both under Cahill's coaching.
Hewitt held the World No. 1 ranking for 80 weeks, including a streak of 75 consecutive weeks between November 2001 and April 2003.
#3. Andre Agassi
Darren Cahill joined hands with Andre Agassi during the later stages of the American's career. Agassi had already reached the World No. 1 ranking, having won multiple Grand Slam titles. However, the American went through a lean patch in the early 2000s after a few poor results.
In 2002, Agassi finished as year as the World No. 2, however, his fortunes changed in 2003. Under Cahill's coaching, the American won the Australian Open to start his season off well before reclaiming the World No. 1 ranking in April 2003, becoming the oldest player to reach the top ranking. This record was later surpassed by Roger Federer. Andre Agassi was the World No. 1 for 101 weeks throughout his career.
#2. Simona Halep
Darren Cahill started coaching Simona Halep in 2017 and helped the Romanian claim the World No. 1 ranking in women's tennis. This was the Australian's first gig as a coach with a WTA player and it was an instant hit.
Simona Halep reached the summit of women's tennis after the China Open in 2017. Despite her loss in the final, her win against Maria Sharapova during the tournament propelled her to the top of the women's ranking. Halep went on the win the French Open in 2018 under Darren Cahill and remained as the World No. 1 for 16 weeks.
#1. Jannik Sinner
Jannik Sinner is the latest tennis prodigy that Cahill has coached to the World No. 1 ranking. The Australian coach joined the Italian's team in July 2022 and the duo has not looked back since. Jannik Sinner has since established himself as one of the best tennis players in the world.
Jannik Sinner won the Davis Cup with Italy and finished as the runner-up at the ATP Finals. Darren Cahill and Simone Vagnozzi won the 'Coach of the Year' award in 2023 for their success with Jannik Sinner.
In 2024, Sinner won the Australian Open, the Miami Open and the ABN AMRO Open in Rotterdam. A semifinal run at the French Open coupled with Novak Djokovic's withdrawal meant that he would become the first Italian to become the singles World No. 1.