Renowned tennis coach Darren Cahill has revealed his “worst ever moment” with a player. The Australian has mentored the likes of Andre Agassi and Lleyton Hewitt and is currently working with world No. 1 Jannik Sinner.
But the 59-year-old admitted he made his biggest mistake while coaching Simona Halep. Cahill spent five years working with the two-time Major winner on and off, but he once ended up in tears and told her she could “fire” him.
Cahill has cemented himself as one of the best coaches in tennis, guiding several players to Grand Slam titles and the world No. 1 ranking. The Aussie is set to retire at the end of the 2025 season and has reflected on his successful career.
While there have been plenty of highs for the 59-year-old, there have also been lows. Cahill was part of Sinner’s coaching team throughout the world No. 1’s recent doping saga.
But he has now shed light on his “worst” moment following Halep’s heartbreaking 2017 French Open final loss. The Romanian was playing for her first Major title and the world No. 1 ranking but she lost to Jelena Ostapenko after leading by a set and a break.
“Maybe my worst-ever coaching moment happened after that,” Cahill said on the Tennis Insider Podcast, hosted by WTA star Caroline Garcia.
“I decided through that period that because I was the oldest, most experienced [on the team], that I was going to be positive, that I’m going to just sell her positive stories.”
Cahill continued to tell Halep that she would eventually win a long-awaited Grand Slam title, encouraging her to keep forming. However, he quickly learned this was the wrong approach.
The Australian added: “But it was the wrong style of coaching for her because she was suffering on the inside with doubt, with the match that she lost, with the fears, with everything. And I was showing no empathy, I wasn’t suffering with her.
“I was suffering but I wasn’t showing I was suffering. I was positive, and she wanted me to be miserable like she was. It’s true because misery loves misery in the tough moments. And all she wanted to see from me was that I was feeling as bad as she was.”
Cahill continued his positive approach for the next couple of months but he finally succumbed to his emotions after Halep’s first-round US Open loss to Maria Sharapova later that year.
“The next day, I saw her and I walked over to her and I said, ‘This is all on me. The last eight weeks are on me. I made such a mistake. I tried to be positive and whatnot, but I know that you’re suffering and I’m suffering inside’,” he recalled.
“And I started having tears and I gave her a hug. She was crying and she goes, ‘I’ve been waiting for this hug for three months. I’m so happy you gave me this’. I say, ‘If you want to fire me now, I’ll walk away’.”
But Halep didn’t fire him. Instead, their partnership strengthened. Just a few weeks later, Halep got revenge over Sharapova in Beijing and she went on to secure the world No. 1 ranking for the first time.
The Romanian won her maiden Grand Slam title a few months later at the 2018 French Open – a moment Cahill branded the “most emotional” of his career. It was a reversal of the previous year, as Halep came from a set and break down to beat Sloane Stephens.
Halep won one more Major at Wimbledon in 2019, dominating in the final against Serena Williams. She recently retired on home soil at the Transylvania Open.
Content Source: www.express.co.uk