Andy Murray to not return to coaching anytime soon, says it was a 'brilliant opportunity' with Djokovic
Photo: Instagram.com/Andy Murray
INTERNATIONAL: Tennis legend Andy Murray expressed that he will not be returning to coaching anytime soon. The former athlete's six-month partnership with former rival Novak Djokovic ended just before the French Open started, and now he is taking a break from it.
Murray had this coaching opportunity just over three months after retiring from the 2024 Paris Olympics. Speaking at the Queen's Club Championships—the event where the 'Andy Murray Arena' was unveiled— he admitted that he was not expecting to be a coach so soon.
Murray admitted: ' I would do it again at some stage… I don't think that will happen immediately.'
He added, 'I wasn't planning on going into coaching as soon as I finished playing, but it was a pretty unique opportunity. It was a chance to learn from one of the best athletes of all time. You also learn a lot about how to work with a team… As an individual athlete, you have a team of people around you, but you're the focal point, whereas when you're coaching an individual, you're working with a physio, physical trainers, agents, and you need to know how to get your message across to the player and find out what makes them tick.'
' That was the thing I learned and something I need to work on if I want to do it again in the future.' Highlights of Murray and Djokovic's partnership
Murray joined Djokovic's team for his run at the 2025 Australian Open semi-finals back in January. Throughout their collaboration, Djokovic won his first title of the 2025 season and his 100th career title when he defeated Hubert Hurkacz at the ATP 250 Geneva Open.
With this experience, Murray said: 'It was a brilliant opportunity for me. We got to spend some really nice moments away from the court. Results weren't as we wanted, but we gave it a go… We'll see about coaching in the future, but I don't think that will happen for a while.'
Recently, Murray praised Sinner and Alcaraz and described them as 'brilliant athletes' after their impressive match at the French Open. The legend also added that he believes tennis is now heading in an exciting direction, but noted that it is essential never to forget the legacy of the Big Three—Roger Federer, Rafael Nadal, and Novak Djokovic—and what they have done for tennis' history.
In a social media post, Murray shared a photo with Alcaraz, captioning it: 'Managed to grab a photo with my favourite athlete ❤️.'
Netizens commented on the post and remarked: 'Such talent and genuinely nice people', and 'Legend with legend in the making. 🫡'
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
CNA
2 hours ago
- CNA
Four-week break among recommended player safeguards as part of new soccer study
MANCHESTER, England :A four-week off-season break should be mandatory for professional soccer players, with two of those weeks to be a blackout period with no communication with club or national team, according to a new study. Seventy medical and performance experts agreed on 12 safeguards as part of the study released on Thursday by global players' union FIFPRO to protect players from calendar congestion and excessive workload. The safeguards include a minimum four-week retraining period after an off-season break before a return to competition. "Decoding the human body, performance, and sport-related injuries will be a lifelong scientific exercise for all of us," said Darren Burgess, chair of FIFPRO's High-Performance Advisory Network. "However, the results of this study show that there are certain minimum standards such as adequate rest between matches, and proper off-season breaks, that are common sense, aligned with scientific evidence and, above all, required by global occupational health and safety standards." The study's release comes days before the expanded FIFA Club World Cup kicks off in the United States amid player welfare concerns after an exhausting European season. FIFPRO are calling for the immediate implementation of the safeguards which also include a minimum four-week retraining period after a close-season break before a return to competition, and travel fatigue management which would mean rest periods after long-haul flights. Players should also have a mandatory one-day off per week during the season and there should be a one-week mid-season break with no club or national team travel, training or media commitments. FIFPRO are also calling for specific workload safeguards for academy players under the age of 18. More than 75 per cent agreement was required amongst participants to establish each recommendation. While some safeguards exist under the collective bargaining agreements of some countries, international football lacks standardized regulations, FIFPRO said. The study's Delphi methodological approach was an electronic survey conducted from February to March 2025, involving experts working in the performance or medical team in men's professional football. Seventy-three percent of the experts are employed by football clubs, with 27 per cent working for national teams. "If we can all agree that health comes first, then we should take steps to implement these safeguards," said FIFPRO's Medical Director Vincent Gouttebarge. In October, FIFPRO, the European leagues' group and Spain's LaLiga filed a joint complaint to European Union antitrust regulators, accusing soccer's global governing body FIFA of "abuse," concerned about the impact of the expanding football calendar on player wellbeing.
CNA
3 hours ago
- CNA
Bath and Leicester roll back the years in battle for English supremacy
LONDON -Bath v Leicester is a fixture that is evocative of a time when the clubs totally ruled English rugby, and memories and rivalries forged in the 1980s will re-emerge on Saturday when they meet in the English Premiership final for the first time. They, along with Gloucester, are the only clubs to have been permanent members of the top flight since it was formed 1988 and in the league's early years they were totally dominant, winning 12 of the first 15 titles between them, as well as nine versions of the cup. Since those glory days, however, it has been a different story, as the likes of Saracens, Wasps, Northampton and Exeter broke up the hegemony. Leicester did continue to dine at the top table, winning the league in 2007, 2010, 2013 and 2022 to take their tally to 11, but Bath's last triumph remains the 1996 title when the winners were still decided by a simple league table with no end-of-season final. That was also the last time the two big guns faced off at Twickenham, as Bath triumphed 16-15 in the Pilkington Cup final courtesy of a last-minute penalty try that Leicester fans have been grumbling about for 29 years. Until this season, Bath's 1996 league and cup double remained their last domestic success - though they did win the European Cup two years later. They have lost three Premiership finals since then, including last year's nail-biter against Northampton, but are now bidding for a 2025 treble having already bagged the Premiership Cup - largely a development competition - and the European Challenge Cup. They finished away and clear at the top of the Premiership and, after an early wobble, eventually swept past Bristol in the semis. South African coach Johann van Graan has introduced a level of pragmatism rarely seen at the Recreation Ground and fans dreaming of running rugby, but starved of silverware, have learned to love seeing their massive pack, and particularly their own Bomb Squad, overwhelm all opposition in a succession of second-half surges. The team have also been expertly guided by the halfback combination of on-song Ben Spencer and Finn Russell, who has curbed some of his wilder instincts to move his team around the pitch, while also taking his goalkicking up to truly world-class level. "It's taken a lot of hard work from the group," scrumhalf Spencer said of Bath's revival since Van Graan arrived two years ago. "I think one huge thing that Johann brought in was turning hope into belief. This group believes now, and believes that we can win big games. Saturday will be another huge game for the group and we know that each and every one of us has got each other's back." Leicester are back where they feel they belong after an horrendous dip that had them finish third-from-bottom last season. Under the leadership of Australian Michael Cheika they have rediscovered much of their swagger and finished strongly to secure second place in the standings before edging past Sale in the semis. "They gave us a bit of a tonking when we were down there a few weeks ago and Bath are the only team we haven't beaten yet this year, so we have got to find a way to master that opponent," Cheika said in relation to his side's 43-15 league defeat on May 17. Whatever the result, it will be an emotional day for scrumhalf Ben Youngs and prop Dan Cole - England's two most-capped players - who are playing their final games after almost 700 Leicester appearances between them.
Straits Times
3 hours ago
- Straits Times
Wimbledon champions to receive record three million pounds in prize money
FILE PHOTO: Tennis - Wimbledon - All England Lawn Tennis and Croquet Club, London, Britain - July 14, 2024 Spain's Carlos Alcaraz poses for a picture with the trophy after winning his men's singles final against Serbia's Novak Djokovic REUTERS/Hannah Mckay/File Photo Wimbledon has increased its prize money for this year's championships to 53.5 million pounds ($72.59 million), a 7% increase on 2024 and double what they offered a decade ago, the All England Lawn Tennis Club (AELTC) said on Thursday. The singles champions will receive three million pounds ($4.07 million) each, the highest across all Grand Slams and a 11.1% increase on the prize money Carlos Alcaraz and Barbora Krejcikova took home last year. Singles players who exit the first round will receive 66,000 pounds, a 10% increase on last year. Doubles prize money has also increased by 4.4%, mixed doubles by 4.3% and the wheelchair and quad wheelchair events by 5.6%. The increase also comes after the world's top players called for significant improvements in prize money at the four Grand Slams as a way to ensure a more equitable distribution of revenue. "We have listened to the players, we have engaged with the players," AELTC chair Deborah Jevans said. "But the focus on just the prize money at the four events, the Grand Slams, does not get to the heart of what the challenge is with tennis. "The challenge with tennis is the fact that the players don't have an off-season which they want, they have increasing injuries that they're speaking about." Jevans added that Wimbledon is willing to engage and talk with the tours to try and find solutions but there has not been any proposal as to how the tour is able to change its structure. FINAL AT 4 P.M. The AELTC also said the doubles finals on the weekend would start at 1 p.m. local time and the singles finals at 4 p.m. Such a change could potentially change playing conditions - like having the roof closed and the lights switched on - if the match runs long and well into the night. The French Open final this month where Alcaraz beat Jannik Sinner lasted five hours and 29 minutes, but AELTC chief executive Sally Bolton said the change in timing would ensure an "improved experience" for all. "Whether that's the doubles finalists having greater certainty over their schedule, whether it's the fans having the opportunity to experience a day which builds to the crescendo of the singles finals or ensuring that we have our champions crowned in front of the widest possible audience," she said. NO LINE JUDGES This year's championships also marks a break with an age old tradition where line judges will be replaced for the first time with the electronic line calling system that is in place at tournaments worldwide. Bolton said "the time is right to move on", adding that many line judges would return in different roles as match assistants, with two assigned per court. "They're extra eyes and ears, the assistant to the chair umpire... We've got about 80 of those across the Championships. "They'll also provide one of the parts of our resilience in the event that the electronic line calling system goes down at any point in time." REUTERS Join ST's Telegram channel and get the latest breaking news delivered to you.
