Jannik Sinner’s frustrations boiled over on Friday night during the Paris Masters quarterfinals as he was caught cursing at his team mid-match against Ben Shelton.
Despite taking the first set and leading 3-1 in the second, the Italian player began muttering at his box after being broken to love, demanding to know why they were “f—— sitting”. Sinner managed to regain his composure and secure a 6-3, 6-3 victory, but his future with coach Darren Cahill remains uncertain, as Cahill is expected to depart the team at season’s end.
Sinner has advanced to the Paris Masters semi-finals for the first time in his career, although his performance this week has been less than stellar. He seemed to struggle in his match against Francisco Cerundolo on Thursday, admitting: “It’s clear I’m not at 100 percent.”
His quarter-final match against Shelton on Friday told a similar tale, with Sinner appearing shaky at times, yet still managing to win in straight sets. The four-time Major champion expressed dissatisfaction with his team early in the second set, urging them to show more enthusiasm.
After playing a sloppy game, Sinner gestured towards his box, waving his arms.
Commentator Adam Fielder noted, “You don’t often see that from Sinner, I think he was just asking his team to stand up, they found that quite amusing. Darren Cahill staying firmly seated,”.
Shelton immediately retaliated, leading to Sinner confronting his coaches during a changeover. “I got a break and you are f—— sitting,” he vented at Cahill and the team, who responded with supportive shouts of “Forza”.
Sinner managed to secure another break at the end of the second set, thanks to Shelton’s double fault. This gave the Italian the opportunity to serve for the match, which he did successfully, securing his spot in the semifinals with a winning shot.
The 24-year-old might want to tread carefully around Cahill, as he hopes to persuade the esteemed Australian tennis coach to remain on his team. At the beginning of the season, Cahill announced that this would be his final year coaching Sinner.
However, after Sinner’s Wimbledon victory, Cahill seemed to reconsider his decision. When asked if he’d rethink his choice, Cahill replied: “I don’t want to answer this. You know what, you just need to ask Jannik that.”
During the Italian segment of his press conference shortly after, Sinner quipped: “It depends if I want to tell the truth or not. We made a bet before the final, I told him that if I won, I could choose whether he could stay or not at the end of the year. Now the choice is mine!”.
As the 2025 season nears its end, Sinner and Cahill have yet to discuss their future plans. Prior to last week’s Vienna Open, the world No. 2 told ATP Media: “We haven’t talked yet, to be honest. We said we are going to finish the year, and then we might ask him for a long chat, trying to convince him.
“But in any case, if he stays or not, he has been an amazing person and obviously a coach for me to hold the whole team together in the tough moments.
“He is like a second father to me, so I’m happy to have him here. It’s a huge privilege to work with him. We aim for something very positive [for him to stay], and I will need a lot of hope for that.”