Tennis commentator Robbie Koenig has questioned a decision made by Jannik Sinner’s coach Simone Vagnozzi, which he said proved “expensive”.
The former ATP player pointed out that Vagnozzi urged Sinner to continue playing at the Madrid Open despite the Italian expressing pain.
Sinner had struggled with a hip injury during his season at the Madrid Open and ultimately withdrew from the event before his quarterfinal match with Felix Auger-Aliassime.
The world No. 2 was then forced to withdraw from the ongoing Italian Open with the same injury, and the 22-year-old also put his participation in the French Open in doubt.
Alongside fellow coach Darren Cahill, Vagnozzi has played a key role in Sinner’s evolution as a player since he joined his team in 2022.
Since the 2023 US Open in September, Sinner has won five titles and lost just four matches, while also inspiring Italy to the Davis Cup crown. He secured his first Grand Slam title at the Australian Open in January. In a post on
“It would be sad if Sinner missed RG, man, I love watching him compete,” the South African wrote.
“One thing I will never understand, however, is that a player asks his team if he should continue… JS clearly uncomfortable in Madrid, Simone urges him to continue after Jannik said “it hurts” (groin area).
“It could prove to be a costly decision. Only the player knows how serious his injury is. I had a bad feeling at the time that this might backfire, Jannik.
“Missing Roma and (perhaps) RG (Roland Garros) would confirm that it was a wrong decision to continue playing in Madrid, in my opinion.”
Koenig added in another tweet: “I’m not confusing discomfort with pain… you’re right, most players play with discomfort somewhere, but this was different. You don’t see him saying “it hurts” every couple of weeks. This was the red flag for me.
