Tennis fans are left mystified by envelope handed to Jannik Sinner’s Australian coach Darren Cahill after the star’s stunning Open win
- Cahill and fellow coach Simone Vagnozzi received an envelope
- The pair also received an inscribed silver plaque after the win
- Tennis fans said they had never seen it at a grand slam before
Australian Open boss Craig Tiley has confounded tennis fans by handing a mysterious envelope to Jannik Sinner’s coaches, Darren Cahill and Simone Vagnozzi, after the Italian’s stunning grand slam victory on Sunday night.
The tournament director presented the stationery to the men at center court after Sinner received his trophy, with the pair’s names handwritten on the front.
Tennis Australia posted the footage on social media platform
Ny Breaking Australia has reached out to Tennis Australia for comment.
Tiley shook hands with Cahill and Vagnozzi during the exchange and also presented them with a silver plate inscribed with ‘Australian Open Champion Coach Men’s Singles 2024’.
Craig Tiley (left) presented Jannik Sinner’s coaches Simone Vagnozzi (centre, in white) and Darren Cahill (right) with an envelope with their names after the Italian’s victory
The pair were also presented with a silver plaque with the words ‘Australian Open Champion Coach Men’s Singles 2024’ (pictured, right) – but astonished fans said they had never seen such a presentation at a grand slam
The sight raised questions from tennis fans who said they had never seen coaches receive similar gifts at previous grand slams.
‘Oh wow. Are they giving the team a trophy now? Don’t think I’ve ever seen this before,” one person wrote.
‘What a nice recognition. Is this new?’ asked another.
‘@darrencahill, can you tell us about the envelope you received from @craigtiley? In fact, I’ve never seen Goran Ivanisevic or Marian Vajda receive anything in the 10 previous trophy ceremonies where @DjokerNole won the @AustralianOpen,” said a third fan.
Ivanisevic is currently coaching Novak Djokovic after taking over from Vjada, who parted ways with the Serbian superstar in 2022.
Sinner was full of praise for his coaches after beating Daniil Medvedev from two sets down on Sunday evening to take his first Grand Slam crown.
“My team there, everyone that’s in this box, also working from home and working with me, we’re trying to get better every day,” he said.
Sinner climbed into the stands to celebrate with his coaches after beating Daniil Medvedev
Cahill (right) was praised for stepping back and letting the 22-year-old celebrate with the rest of his entourage after the five-set win
‘Even during the tournament we tried to become stronger and understand every situation a little better, so I’m so happy that you support me there and understand me, which is sometimes not easy because sometimes I’m still a little young. .’
Cahill was also praised for his selfless act after Sinner took match point.
The 22-year-old Italian collapsed to the ground after hitting the match-winning shot, before heading to his players’ box to be hugged by his coaches.
Still, Cahill took a moment to step back and allow Sinner to celebrate with Vagnozzi and others.
“Darren Cahill in the green hoodie right there on the screen, and he’s one of those guys who doesn’t get the spotlight,” Todd Woodbridge said on commentary.
“He jumped out of the way earlier with the big hug in the stands, and he knows it’s all about the player and it’s all about the reaction at home; Can you imagine the scenes in Italy?’
Jim Courier added: “Most of the team is Italian and (Simone) was the initial coach (Sinner) hired, and they decided together that they should also bring in Darren Cahill, a technical expert.
‘(Cahill) has done a lot of work changing the way (Sinner’s) game looks, the service movement has changed many times and Darren has often spoken about how excellent he is in that aspect and how well they work together, with Darren in coming in and helping with the tactics and some of the experience he brings.”