In the last 18 months, Jannik Sinner has lifted four Grand Slam trophies and reached the No. 1 ranking in the world. But while the tennis has been top-tier, things behind the scenes have been anything but steady. A doping controversy threatened to derail everything. With a three-month ban and some very public team breakups, fitness coach Umberto Ferrara is now officially back in Sinner’s corner. It’s a move that raised plenty of eyebrows, but a former Italian player sees it as inevitable. Let’s find out more!

Jannik Sinner has brought back Umberto Ferrara, the very fitness coach whose purchase of an over-the-counter spray in 2024 led to Sinner’s positive doping tests. Back in February 2024, Ferrara bought Trofodermin, a topical wound treatment available without a prescription in Italy. The product, sold in Bologna, contained the banned anabolic steroid clostebol. A month later, Sinner tested positive for clostebol on two separate occasions.

According to the 4-time Grand Slam champion, his physio Giacomo Naldi had used the spray on a cut on his hand and then went on to massage Sinner without realizing the consequences.  An independent tribunal set up by the International Tennis Integrity Agency ruled that Sinner bore “no fault or negligence” in August last year. But when the World Anti-Doping Agency appealed that verdict to the Court of Arbitration for Sport, Sinner found himself in deeper waters. Before the appeal could proceed, WADA and Sinner reached a case resolution agreement. The result was a three-month ban for the 23-year-old.

As part of the fallout, Sinner parted ways with both Ferrara and Naldi. “I’m not feeling that confident to continue with them,” he said during a press conference ahead of the 2024 US Open. After his departure, Ferrara began working with Matteo Berrettini. Yet it seems that the chapter didn’t last long. Sinner has now reappointed him, surprising many in the tennis world.

Former doubles World No. 25 Diego Nargiso believes Ferrara’s return was never truly off the table. “I was very surprised by his return to the team. It’s a courageous choice on Jannik’s part; it confirms his determination: he knows how Umberto works, and he wants to continue along the path,” Nargiso told Repubblica, according to Express.co.uk. “I believe that then it was an act that was more necessary than desired. Maybe someone had done something negligent, but I know Umberto: he is a very attentive, scrupulous person, a great professional. Jannik wanted him back with him, rightly going beyond the chatter and controversies of some envious people.”

Ferrara will fill the place of  Marco Panichi and Ulises Badio, the fitness coach and physio who had taken over in September 2024. That change came just before Wimbledon this year.

But the shake-up may not be over yet. There are doubts of another team change.

Jannik Sinner’s title defense at the US Open in danger as his coach might opt out

Jannik Sinner is set to return to action at the Cincinnati Open next month as part of his lead-up to the US Open, where he will look to defend his title. However, according to La Repubblica, only one coach, Simone Vagnozzi, will accompany him in New York. The report claimed that Darren Cahill is set to take “a short break.” That report was quickly challenged. Brad Gilbert, former coach of Coco Gauff, posted on X saying, “For the record, this is completely fake news.”

The World No.1 has worked with Vagnozzi since February 2022, and Cahill joined the team later in July of the same year. Since then, the partnership has clearly flourished.

Earlier this year, it was announced that Cahill would step down from coaching at the end of the 2025 season. But after winning Wimbledon, Sinner threw a playful twist into the story. “It depends on whether I want to tell the truth or not,” he said with a smile. “We had a bet before the final. I told him, ‘If I win tomorrow, I can decide whether you stay until the end of the year or not.’ Now the choice is mine!”

Still, the picture isn’t completely clear. When asked this week by the ATP Tour whether Cahill will continue, Vagnozzi admitted, “Honestly, nothing’s certain at the moment. But we’ll all be happy if Darren stays.”

With Cincinnati around the corner and the US Open looming, Sinner’s on-court form is solid. But the same can’t be said for the team around him. For now, Jannik Sinner seems focused on blocking out the noise. Will the new-old setup bring more success or more change?