Roger Federer’s incredible tennis career was not enough to convince Darren Cahill to work with him in 2009.
Federer has won 13 Grand Slams by the time he split with Tony Roche, and he was looking to continue his ascension on the rest of the ATP Tour.
The Swiss star offered Jannik Sinner’s current coach Darren Cahill the role, who had coached numerous world number ones.
Despite Federer’s incredible track record in tennis, Cahill decided the job of coaching the best player in the world was not for him.
Darren Cahill rejected Roger Federer in 2009
Federer’s agent, Tony Godsick, confirmed to Tennis World USA that the Swiss star wanted to work with Cahill.
He said: “Darren is an amazing man, he has a fantastic personality, and it would have been a true gift for Roger. But he did not want to travel so much, he has a young family and he wants to stay close to them.”
Cahill has worked with Lleyton Hewitt, Andre Agassi, and Simona Halep throughout his illustrious coaching career.
In 2022, the Australian began to work with Sinner alongside Simone Vagnozzi. He has since overseen every Grand Slam victory from the Italian.
Cahill is expected to work with Sinner throughout 2026, although he has revealed his intentions to retire in the near future.
Who did Roger Federer work with instead?
After being rejected by Cahill in 2009, Federer instead opted to work with legendary American coach Paul Annacone.
He had previously worked with Pete Sampras and Tim Henman, and he spent three years working with the Swiss star.
Annacone oversaw Federer’s 2012 Wimbledon win, as well as consecutive victories at the ATP Finals in 2010 and 2011.
After splitting from Annacone, Federer worked with the former professional tennis players Stefan Edberg and Ivan Ljubičić.
