Tennis News Roundup: Jannik Sinner's coach sparks controversy with possible dig at Novak Djokovic; Coco Gauff's brother takes bold new step in non-tennis athlete career

Fans believe Jannik Sinner's coach targeted Novak Djokovic through a social media post after the Serb's blunt comments on the Italian's doping case. Coco Gauff's brother, Codey, has signed with the Missouri Tigers college baseball team.

Andy Roddick and Jon Wertheim expressed concern about Elena Rybakina snubbing WTA CEO Portia Archer after winning the WTA Finals. Aryna Sabalenka cited a dilemma about choosing between tennis and starting a family. Lorenzo Musetti's coach revealed that Djokovic's team had booked flights and hotels for them in Turin before announcing ATP Finals withdrawal.

Let's look at the top stories of the day:

#1. Fans are convinced about Jannik Sinner's coach taking a dig at Novak Djokovic in social media post

Novak Djokovic at the 2025 Shanghai Rolex Masters - Source: Getty

During a recent interview with Piers Morgan, Novak Djokovic opined that Jannik Sinner did not receive a harsh enough punishment after testing positive for clostebol last year. The Serb suggested that the authorities were lenient and ensured that the Italian did not miss a Grand Slam tournament.

On Thursday, November 13, Sinner's coach Darren Cahill posted a quote that read:

"Opinion is really the lowest form of human knowledge. It requires no accountability, no understanding. The highest form of knowledge… is empathy, for it requires us to suspend our egos and live in another’s world."

Sinner's fans immediately linked Cahill's post to Djokovic and were glad he called out the Serbian icon.

"I would add this: you can be the best tennis player in history and still talk crap @DjokerNole," a fan wrote. "I’m glad he said this b/c we are tired of Djokovic rehashing this doping situation again doing that interview that moron If Sinner was on the level of a Fritz or Zverev, I bet Djokovic wouldn’t have give a flying f**k. It’s because Sinner beats him all the time he’s like that," another commented. "That's a slipper shot to Novak," weighed in yet another fan.

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#2. Coco Gauff congratulates brother Codey upon committing to college baseball

Coco Gauff expressed her pride and congratulated her brother, Codey Gauff, upon signing with the Missouri Tigers college baseball team. Their mother, Candi, shared a few photos of the entire family as the 17-year-old signed his contract.

"We are proud of you!!! Congratulations on the official signing of your letter of intent to play baseball at Mizzou University! Remember to keep God first, make the right choices, and always remember I will always be your #1 fan and forever your mom. You can always call me no matter the time or situation," Candi wrote.

Coco Gauff shared the post on her stories and wrote:

"Signing day for my lil bro😭🤍 so proud of you. Go be great. My GOAT, my inspiration, my reason, my first friend. I love you! Proud of you! #01."

Gauff's Instagram story

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#3. Andy Roddick & Jon Wertheim discuss Elena Rybakina snubbing WTA CEO in Riyadh

Last week, Elena Rybakina won her maiden WTA Finals title without losing a match. However, she refused to shake hands and pose with WTA CEO Portia Archer during the trophy ceremony, as she felt the organization had wrongly banned her coach, Stefano Vukov, earlier this year.

On the 'Served with Andy Roddick' podcast, the 2003 US Open winner reacted to the controversy, saying:

"There has been some turmoil and obviously, there's still some feelings about how everything went down and the fact that they suspended her coach. I don't know how else to define it. I won't go there but there's still seems to be some issue."

Journalist Jon Wertheim asserted that the WTA was not wrong in suspending Vukov and that the Kazakh player's actions surprised him, given that she is not an overly expressive person.

"I don't think the WTA has any apologizing to do. There is a code of conduct. They determined her coach violated that term of conduct. WTA did nothing wrong in my opinion. But it said something that she's still defiant about that and also, this situation could have gone a lot darker. We should be happy for everyone involved," Wertheim said.

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#4. Aryna Sabalenka prioritizes tennis over starting a family

WTA Finals 2025 - Source: Getty

Aryna Sabalenka is the year-end No. 1 for a second consecutive time. The 27-year-old recently spoke about striking a balance between her personal and professional lives.

Speaking to podcaster Alexander Sokolovskiy, Sabalenka revealed that her initial plan was to have a baby by the age of 25 and then return to tennis.

“At 18, I thought by 25 I'd win everything I wanted. At 25, I'd have a baby, come back, and keep winning. 25 came, I won some stuff, then I thought maybe 27 or 28? Now I'm 27 and I'm like, 'Well…a bit later. We'll move it.' I realised I wanted to get the most out of my career, see how far I can go.”

The Belarusian added that as much as she wanted a child, tennis is her top priority at the moment.

“So it's a rough plan with a possible move. I would like to try to start a family in five years and maybe try to come back depending on what stage I will be in my life, but yes, this is a difficult moment. Because if I could, I would have gone now. I love children very much and it seems that children love me and I would really like to but now, I have a priority," she added.

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#5. Lorenzo Musetti's coach says Novak Djokovic's team booked their flights and hotels for ATP Finals

Novak Djokovic's last-minute withdrawal from the ATP Finals allowed Lorenzo Musetti to secure the last spot. The move also drew criticism for the Serb, who was accused of keeping the Italian guessing till the last second.

However, Musetti's coach, Simone Tartarini, recently revealed that Djokovic's team had already booked flights and rooms in Turin for them.

"Nobody knew anything. All week we tried to understand. We joked with his team who kept telling us that only Nole would decide at the last minute. They had booked everything for Turin, the rooms, the flights. At first, we discussed it amongst ourselves: nobody knew anything, there really were no clues," he said in an interview with Gazzetta dello Sport. (translated from French)

Musetti lost two of his three group-stage matches and crashed out of the tournament on Thursday.

Edited by Parag Jain