Jannik Sinner’s fitness coach details the plan behind his Rome comeback: “This work will have to bear fruit”

Jannik Sinner’s return to the ATP Tour is getting closer, and his fitness coach Marco Panichi is confident that the World No. 1 will come back at a great level for the Italian Open. According to Panichi, the team created a special training plan to make the most out of the three-month suspension.

When Sinner’s doping case involving Clostebol was revealed, the International Tennis Integrity Agency determined that the player was free of “fault or negligence,” meaning he had avoided a suspension.

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However, the World Anti-Doping Agency (WADA) announced an appeal, requesting a suspension of between one and two years. A hearing was initially expected in April to determine the outcome, but Sinner reached a settlement with WADA: he accepted a three-month suspension to avoid the hearing and – potentially – a much harsher sanction.

The suspension began on 9 February and will end on Sunday 4 May, the day of the Madrid Open final. With this, the Italian will be eligible to return for the Italian Open – where he’ll be the top seed. Despite missing three Masters 1000 events (and a fourth in Madrid), Sinner is guaranteed to return as World No. 1.

Sinner played only one tournament this year: Australian Open, where he won the trophy for second consecutive year.

In a recent interview with Corriere Della Sera, Marco Panichi, Sinner’s current fitness coach, spoke about the training plan they designed to make the most of this forced break. “From the day we learned of the stoppage, the player, team, and management have had the same thought in unison: to make the most of this period,” he stated. “We knew right away that we could do a good job, studied and planned, not diluted and broken up by travel and tournaments as usual."

"We have transformed micro-cycles of work into macro-cycles, we have gone into thorough detail, we have dedicated a lot of time to acquiring data on Jannik, applying training modules to put him in a position to make another important leap in quality. From Rome onwards, this work will have to bear fruit."

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"The motivational aspect is crucial: we constantly challenge Jannik with new opportunities, and we push him to do new things, new for him. Even simple ones: a game of golf, a visit to a museum,” he added.

Panichi has worked with players such as Fabio Fognini, Angelique Kerber, Francesca Schiavone, and Novak Djokovic. He was hired by Sinner after Umberto Ferrara – believed to be responsible for the doping case – left the team.

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Panichi highlighted the importance of working on mental aspects off the court, even through everyday experiences: "Expanding the mental sphere allows you to show up for fresher training. But it is equally true that a certain repetitiveness is useful for comparison, without running the risk of caging the player in something too monotonous. It is the variety in the work protocol that allows us to understand if we are doing well."

"In these three months, moreover, he has taken some time off for himself: he has rediscovered himself. Detoxification is underway. I’m very happy: on a mental level, he’s transformed. He will return to Rome with enormous motivation and important freshness."

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