Australia, 6 December 2023 | Leigh Rogers

Three of Australia’s top high performance coaches are nominated for the Coaching Excellence – Performance Award at the 2023 Australian Tennis Awards.

This award is presented annually to an outstanding high performance coach that delivers a quality, comprehensive and holistic coaching program that focuses on the technical, tactical, physical and psychological development of elite players.

The 2023 finalists are:

Darren Cahill (SA): Italian Jannik Sinner has established himself as one of the world’s best players since the esteemed Cahill joined his coaching team in July 2022. Sinner was a Wimbledon semifinalist and captured four ATP singles titles to finish a career-best 2023 season at world No.4.

Mark Draper (Qld): As coach of Rinky Hijikata, Draper played a pivotal role in his charge’s rapid ascension up the rankings during a breakout 2023 season. Hijikata made his top-100 debut in both singles and doubles this year, peaking at No.70 in singles and No.23 in doubles.

Jay Gooding (Vic): It has been a busy year for Gooding. He helped Aleksandar Vukic soar into the world’s top 50, reach a first ATP singles final and establish himself as one of Australia’s top-ranked players, as well as guiding Daria Saville through her comeback from knee surgery.

The award winner will be announced at the 2023 Australian Tennis Awards, held at Melbourne’s Crown Casino, on Monday 11 December.

Cahill is in contention to win this award for a second time, while Draper and Gooding could receive this honour for the first time.

> READ: Finalists revealed for the 2023 Australian Tennis Awards

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