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Will Sinner's new team, featuring Djokovic's ex-mates, propel him to the top of the ATP rankings?

What a year it has been for the Italian sensation, Jannik Sinner! The World No.1 won the Cincinnati Open and the US Open back to back. However, the doping scandal cast a shadow over his celebrations in both cases. But Sinner seems to have moved on from the dark times and is aiming for a brighter future, by laying off his physiotherapist, Giacomo Naldi, who was the center of the storm, and hiring Novak Djokovic’s former mates: Ulises Badio and Marco Panichi.

Though Panichi, who was in team Djokovic since 2017, as his fitness coach, was long touted to join team Sinner. But the addition of Badio to the team has taken everyone by surprise. Badio worked as Djokovic’s physio from 2017 to 2022, before Claudio Zimaglia replaced him. He was the key person who helped the Serb recover during the 2021 Australian Open. Despite suffering an abdominal strain during the R3 of the tournament, the Serbian ace ended up winning the title.

Jannik Sinner, on his official X account, shared the update with a picture of the new members of his support staff, welcoming the fitness coach and the physio. The World No. 1 wrote, “Welcome to the team, Marco and Ulises. ”  

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Panichi was a part of Djokovic’s team for a very long time. The duo parted ways only in April, this year. Djokovic shared a heart-warming post on Instagram as he bid adieu to his fitness trainer, expressing his gratitude for an amazing journey. The Serb wrote, “Grande Marco, what amazing years of collaboration we’ve had. We reached the summit, won titles, broken records. But most of all, I have enjoyed our most “ordinary” days of training in and out of the gym!” This, however, wasn’t the only breakaway from team Djokovic this year. Back in March, the Serbian ace also parted ways with his coach, Goran Ivanisevic.

Coming back to Sinner though, the World No.1 will want to keep the momentum going and claim the last title of the year as well, at the ATP finals. As long as he keeps winning, the doping controversy will take a back seat and Sinner will hope that the new additions to his support staff aid him in the remainder of the season and more importantly, help him prepare well for the new season, where he has to defend the Australian Open title.

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Will Sinner's new team, featuring Djokovic's ex-mates, propel him to the top of the ATP rankings?

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But Jannik Sinner isn’t the only superstar who has made changes to his support staff recently. Naomi Osaka has parted ways with her coach as well, as she is looking to hire a new coach and claim her lost glory once again!

Big team changes at the end of the season: Naomi Osaka and Jannik Sinner

Sinner had his reasons, as detailed above, to make big changes to his team. However, for Naomi Osaka, things are relatively simple. The Japanese star just wants to be back on the winning track, after facing early-round exits throughout the season. Osaka tried every trick in the book to regain her rhythm, but nothing seemed to work for the 4-time Grand Slam champion. And finally, she made a big change to her support staff.

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After announcing that she had parted ways with her coach, Wim Fissette, Osaka was seen practicing with Serena Williams’ ex-coach, Patrick Mouratoglou at LA. This might not be a bad move, as Mouratoglou helped Serena claim 10 Grand Slam titles in 5 years, in addition to helping her make a successful comeback after the birth of her first daughter, Olympia Ohanian. And there is no reason why the Frenchman can’t help Osaka.

Can Jannik Sinner and Naomi Osaka, both achieve their respective goals with their new teams? Nobody knows, but their fans will certainly be hoping for positive results with these developments.

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