Soon-to-be-dad-again Boris Becker shares honest feelings on potentially coaching Jannik Sinner in future

Boris Becker recently cast his mind back to a conversation with Jannik Sinner about potentially coaching the Italian. According to Becker, while he himself couldn't commit to coaching Sinner, he did suggest names of other coaches, including Darren Cahill. The German tennis legend also made his feelings known on whether he would be interested in coaching the former No. 1 and four-time Major champion in the future.

Speaking to Corriere della Sera, Becker, whose wife Lilian de Carvalho Monteiro is pregnant with the couple's first child, recalled how he turned Sinner down back when he was waiting for the verdict of his bankruptcy fraud case in London.

"Me a step away from becoming Sinner's coach? I thought it was a secret... I never talked about it. It's true. But from there to two months later, I was waiting for the London verdict. I told Jannik: I don't know how it'll end, I can't take on the commitment. But I didn't want to leave him high and dry, I gave him a couple of names: one was Darren Cahill. For me, the best," Becker said.

Going on to rule out coaching Jannik Sinner after Darren Cahill steps down from his role in the Italian's camp at the end of the ongoing season, Boris Becker cited personal and professional reasons, adding:

"If Cahill retires at the end of the season, does Becker get back in the running? Darren won't quit. As for me, I was convinced Jannik could become the strongest. Back then he needed to improve his serve and footwork but he was unique, mentally he was already a phenomenon. Today I'm in a different phase of life, the family's growing, I have a new business. I don't want to be on the road that much and maybe the coaching role is starting to feel too tight for me."

"Jannik Sinner's team's success speaks for itself" - Boris Becker

Boris Becker (left) presents the 2024 year-end ATP singles World No. 1 trophy to Jannik Sinner (center) along with Andrea Gaudenzi (right) (Source: Getty)

Boris Becker went on to heap praise on Simone Vagnozzi, who, alongside Darren Cahill, has guided Jannik Sinner to the World No. 1 ranking, his four Major titles, as well as numerous other prestigious titles in men's tennis in recent years.

The German, a former No. 1 himself, as well as a six-time Slam winner, also highlighted how Sinner's rise to the top has been remarkable considering the Italian's relatively late decision to pursue a career in professional tennis.

"Sinner has won four Slams at 24: I don't think I could have done better than Cahill and Vagnozzi. When he was chosen he wasn't famous, but few understand the game like Simone. The Sinner team's success speaks for itself. And it's incredible, considering Jannik has only been playing seriously since he was 13-14," Becker said.

Jannik Sinner is currently in contention for his sixth Masters 1000 title at the ongoing 2025 Paris Masters, where the Italian is set to clash against Felix Auger-Aliassime in the championship match.

Edited by Sudipto Pati