Serena Williams' ex-coach sends warning to Jannik Sinner about potential risk ahead of his Italian Open comeback

Serena Williams' ex-coach Rick Macci feels Jannik Sinner needs to be cautious on his return to the Italian Open this year. The World No. 1 will make his first appearance on tour after three months in Rome.

Sinner was last seen in action at the Australian Open, where he lifted his third Major title. He outclassed Alexander Zverev in straight sets in the final.

The Italian had been sidelined after testing positive for a banned substance called clostebol. Popular American coach Rick Macci believes he'll need to be careful about his fitness in the initial stages of his comeback.

"The number one thing right now for the number one is injury. The jumping, pumping, slipping and sliding on clay feels a different Way. Because of a 3-month Vacation and now in live combat at a different location, the body will feel tighter for the Italian Street fighter," Rick Macci wrote.

Rick Macci has coached top players such as Serena Williams, Andy Roddick and Maria Sharapova in the past. He keeps up with the latest news in tennis and likes to share his opinion about top players on both the tours.

Despite being away from the men's tour for three months, Sinner retained his No. 1 place in the ATP Rankings. He is almost 2,000 points ahead of his closest rivals, Alexander Zverev and Carlos Alcaraz.

The 23-year-old, who felt he was wrongly penalized by the doping committee, spoke about his experience at the Australian Open. He felt gutted by the way players treated him in the locker room this year after the doping controversy.

"In Australia, I didn’t feel at ease in the locker room or at the restaurant, the players looked at me differently and I didn’t like it at all. There I thought that living tennis in that way was really hard: I’ve always been someone who took tennis jokingly, I thought about taking some time off after Australia,” Jannik Sinner told the media.

Jannik Sinner set to make his 6th appearance in Italian Open this year

Jannik Sinner in the French Open - Roland-Garros 2024. - Source: Getty

Jannik Sinner has been included in the entry list of the Italian Open this year. He is expected to be the top seed at the Masters 1000 event in Rome.

Sinner will make his sixth appearance in the Italian Open this month. He made his debut at the event in 2019 and lost to Stefanos Tsitsipas in the third round.

Sinner has never reached the semifinals of the Italian Open. He reached the last eight in 2022 but lost to Stefanos Tsitsipas again in straight sets.