Ivan Ljubicic has not ruled out a return to coaching to help Jannik Sinner, three years after his partnership with Roger Federer came to an end
Roger Federer’s ex-coach, Ivan Ljubicic, has admitted he’d love a coaching stint with Wimbledon champion Jannik Sinner. The former professional tennis star had Federer as his student for seven years, and has since kept a keen eye on the fresh talent dominating tennis courts worldwide.
The Croatian has been praising many new tennis stars, including Alcaraz, stating that you “never know what’s coming next” with him. However, it is Sinner who is giving Ljubicic “goosebumps” when it comes to returning to the courts in a coaching capacity.
Just this month, Sinner nabbed his first Wimbledon title, exacting his French Open final revenge on Alcaraz by beating him in four sets – and he shows no signs of slowing down any time soon.
With the announcement that Sinner’s current coach Darren Cahill will step down at the end of 2025, Ljubicic has admitted the temptation is there to return to tennis.
Speaking to Swiss publication Tages Anzeiger, he teased the idea of returning. The 46-year-old said: “I have a job with the French FA that keeps me busy, but when a player like Sinner knocks on your door, you have to at least consider it, just like with Roger Federer.
“Sinner, Alcaraz… there are some players who give me goosebumps. At some point, I’ll return to coaching a player, but I don’t know when.”
Ljubicic has nothing but high praise for the emerging rivalry in tennis, although he admitted that he didn’t anticipate such a strong competition following the departure of the Big Three. Both Federer and Rafael Nadal have retired their racquets, while Novak Djokovic continues to grace the courts at 38.
When asked if he foresaw Alcaraz and Sinner filling the void so smoothly, Ljubicic added: “No. The first time I heard about Alcaraz was when he played against Sinner in a Challenger tournament. He was 16 then, and Sinner was 18.
“Riccardo Piatti had been my coach; he coached Sinner, so I knew all about him. That’s also how I heard about Alcaraz. I knew he was going to be good. But this good? You never know. Alcaraz and Sinner are both very eager to win many Grand Slam titles. It will be exciting to see how far they go.”
Ljubicic believes that the rivalry between these two young tennis sensations will only intensify, as they still have a long way to go to reach the heights of Nadal, Federer and Djokovic. Reflecting on the thrilling French Open final, he said: “It was a good final. A very, very, very good final.
“The drama was perfect with the match points that were saved, but people always exaggerate. John McEnroe said that Nadal would have had no chance against these guys – that’s nonsense.
“We still haven’t seen the best of Alcaraz and Sinner; they still have plenty of room for improvement. The next generation is always better than the previous one, but I don’t think they’re ahead yet. Sometimes I watch Roger and Rafa’s matches from 2005, 2008, 2012 and 2015. That was incredible tennis.”