John McEnroe reveals how Jannik Sinner has surprised him as he makes ‘turmoil’ comment

Ewan West 29 Aug 2025 7:30 PM

Jannik Sinner with John McEnroe inset

Tennis legend John McEnroe has expressed his amazement at the level Jannik Sinner has reached as he also praised the Italian for the way he handled the “turmoil” that followed his failed doping tests.

Sinner is the favourite to win the 2025 US Open, where he is the reigning champion, having secured his maiden crown at the New York Grand Slam last year.

The world No 1 is seeking a fourth consecutive hard-court major and fifth Grand Slam in total. He claimed his first major on natural surfaces at Wimbledon last month, where he downed his rival Carlos Alcaraz in the final.

The Italian served a suspension between February 9 and May 4 this year due to failing two doping tests in March 2024.

As a result, Sinner missed Masters 1000 events in Indian Wells, Miami, Monte Carlo and Madrid before making his return to action at the Italian Open.

Speaking on ESPN, McEnroe hailed the role that Sinner’s coach Darren Cahill has played since joining his team in July 2022.

“I know his original coach when he was a kid, Riccardo Piatti, who did a great job with him,” said the former world No 1.

“But he felt like he needed something more, just like Coco [Gauff] has decided to get a new coach. Darren Cahill is one of the greatest coaches that you will ever see in any sport, he should be in the Hall of Fame.

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“He coached [Andre] Agassi, Simona Halep, Lleyton Hewitt. He has done a number with Jannik Sinner, made him more of a believer, changed his serve.”

The seven-time Grand Slam singles champion went on to admit he is surprised by Sinner’s current level.

“He is incredible in and out of the corners,” continued the American.

“Sinner is playing at a level that I did not anticipate would be that high at this point in his career. I am very amazed that he is this good. I have watched him for years, he is a great kid.

“He went through a lot of turmoil with these doping violations, I don’t know exactly what has happened in terms of what went on, but the bottom line is that there was a lot of pressure here [at the US Open] when he played [in 2024].

“He handled that, he went to Australia and it was revisited. He handled that great.

“He got three months, maybe that could have helped him a little bit to regroup, but all in all, he has been a huge plus for our game.”