Murray open to coaching return 'at some stage'
Andy Murray is open to a return to coaching "at some stage" but says he still has plenty to learn about the role.
The 38-year-old, who retired from tennis at the 2024 Olympics, joined long-time rival Novak Djokovic's coaching team last November.
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However, the pair parted company in May 2025 after just four tournaments together, with former number one Djokovic stating he "couldn't get more" out of their partnership.
Murray was positive about the six months he and Djokovic spent together, hailing the "unique" experience of working with "one of the best athletes of all time", while also stating he had not planned on making the transition into coaching quite so soon after hanging up his racquet.
"I would do it again at some stage. I don't think that will happen immediately," he told BBC Sport's Clare Balding at the unveiling of the Andy Murray Arena at the Queen's Club on Monday.
"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.
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"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.
"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."
Murray coached Novak Djokovic at the 2025 Australian Open and three other tournaments [Getty Images]
'Men's tennis is in a great place'
While the jam-packed nature of tennis' schedule means focus has already shifted to the grass-court swing, this year's men's singles final at Roland Garros will be remembered as one of the all-time greats.
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Defending champion Carlos Alcaraz recovered from two sets down and saved three championship points to beat world number one Jannik Sinner after five hours and 29 minutes – the longest French Open final in history.
The pair, who occupy the top two spots in the ATP rankings, have now shared the past six major titles between them and Sunday's final – their first meeting in a Grand Slam trophy match – confirmed the arrival of a new blockbuster rivalry in men's tennis.
Murray believes Sunday's final is confirmation the sport is in a "great place" and tipped Britain's Jack Draper, ranked fourth in the world, to be part of the success.
"They're both brilliant athletes and very different personalities, which I think for fans is really exciting," Murray said.
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"For me, particularly Alcaraz has an exciting brand of tennis to watch, and they complement each other well. They've already had some brilliant matches and from what I've been told, it was one of the best finals for a long time."
"Moving forward, men's tennis is in a great place. People always worry at the end of a generation of players what's going to happen with the sport next, but generally sports continue to evolve and, in most cases, improve.
"Jack [Draper]'s right in the mix just now and doing extremely well. He's going to give himself opportunities to win majors over the next five, 10 years."
However, while heaping praise on the next generation, Murray was keen to emphasise that Alcaraz and Sinner have a long way to go to match the 20 years of dominance achieved by Roger Federer, Rafael Nadal, and Novak Djokovic.
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"The sport's in a really good place but it's important not to forget what the guys have done before them, what Roger, Rafa and Novak have done," he added.
"Winning 20-plus majors is something exceptional and it's easy in today's age to forget a little bit about that. I saw some pundits saying if [Alcaraz and Sinner] went on court against Rafa at the French Open, they would be favourites going into that match with Rafa in his prime.
"Alcaraz and Sinner are on the path to being two of the best, no doubt about that, but it takes time to build what Roger, Rafa, and Novak had. We'll see whether they get that."
'Queen's is always special for me'
Murray won the last of his five Queen's singles titles in 2016 [Getty Images]
Murray is synonymous with Queen's. The Scot is the most successful player in the tournament's history, winning a record five men's singles titles between 2009 and 2016. He also won the men's doubles with Feliciano Lopez in 2019.
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From this year, however, his name will not just adorn the honour's board but also the centre court at Queen's Club, which has been renamed the Andy Murray Arena.
"It's pretty surreal," he said. "A number of tennis courts around the world are named after great players. It's a bit strange to have a court named after you.
"I have a lot of amazing memories at this place and on that court. It's by far my most successful tournament that I competed in.
"I won my first ATP match here. I didn't dream of winning Wimbledon or being world number one, I just wanted to be a professional tennis player and play on the ATP tour. Moments like that, you remember; it was a special moment for me.
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"Winning the tournament feels great and winning major events is the pinnacle of the sport but that wasn't my dream growing up. You remember moments like the place where you won your first tour match and that's why Queen's is always special to me."
This grass-court season marks the return of women's tennis to Queen's for the first time in 52 years, with singles and doubles events taking place from 9 to 15 June before the men take to the courts the following week (16-22 June).
"Having women's tennis back at Queen's for the first time in over 50 years is brilliant," Murray said.
"I hope the event gets well attended. They've got a brilliant field – I think 10 of the top 20 women are here. There'll be some brilliant matches and I always look forward to the grass season."
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GB's Kartal wins as women return to Queen's
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French Open takeaways: Two thrilling finals, the best shots and the funniest moments
Welcome back to the Monday Tennis Briefing, where will explain the stories behind the stories from the past week on court. This week, the French Open concluded with two incredible finals. Coco Gauff beat Aryna Sabalenka in a wind-buffeted thriller, before Carlos Alcaraz and Jannik Sinner delivered five hours and 30 minutes of tennis psychodrama in one of the greatest Roland Garros matches of all time, Alcaraz closing the tournament with a running forehand winner. Advertisement 's tennis team, Matthew Futterman, Charlie Eccleshare and James Hansen, present their takeaways from the second Grand Slam of 2025, from the best shots and funniest moments to the biggest disappointments and the most incredible matches. The best match? Charlie Eccleshare: Maybe this category should be 'best match other than the men's final.' which realistically has this category sewn up. One I enjoyed a lot was Jack Draper's four-set win over Gaël Monfils in the second round. It had so many ingredients: late night, a home player, amazing rallies and drastic swings in momentum. Draper got the victory but the crowd, including the journalists, spent most of the match marveling at the athleticism and skill of the 38-year-old Monfils. Matthew Futterman: Of course the two finals were the best matches. Both went the distance, with so much on the line. All the wind-induced errors in the women's final didn't bother me at all. It added to the suspense, turning tennis into a psychological survival contest that the cool-headed Gauff won by a mile, even if the scoreline was closer than that. Advertisement Besides those, I will go with Novak Djokovic's surgical dismantling of Alexander Zverev in the quarterfinals. Djokovic dropped the first set, which turned out to be an information-gathering exercise. By the fourth, he was floating around the court, tossing up drop shots from behind the baseline before suddenly unleashing point-ending power. He played with so much surprise and creativity. There are many versions of Djokovic; the artist is my favorite. James Hansen: Sabalenka vs. Iga Świątek — yes, including the last set, because of what it displayed about elite tennis. The two most dominant players of the 2020s got only their second Grand Slam meeting. Świątek's title defense was on the line, as was Sabalenka's validation as a clay-court player to compete with the best. The fears realized in the first five games, as Sabalenka streaked away and the forlorn Świątek of so many recent first sets appeared. The forcing quality of the play, as Świątek flattened her forehand and increased its speed to meet Sabalenka's barrage. The comeback to 4-4, the rise into the tiebreak. Sabalenka's toughness to put aside a lost lead and take the first set. Świątek showing the world why she is a four-time French Open champion, taking the second by hitting the shots and using the footwork that only she has. And then the clouds clearing for Sabalenka in the third, and Świątek having to accept that even if only for one set, the mountain was just too high to climb. The funniest moment? Eccleshare: With Świątek facing the winner of a match between Jelena Ostapenko and Elena Rybakina in the fourth round, many tennis fans were desperate for Ostapenko to set up one of the most intriguing matchups in tennis. Despite her general inconsistency, the Latvian has beaten Świątek, the five-time Grand Slam champion, in all six of their meetings. Advertisement When I asked Świątek if she had a preferred opponent in her third-round news conference, I expected the usual straight bat players give to this question. That's initially how Świątek responded, answering 'no.' We maintained eye contact, as I wasn't sure she was being entirely genuine. At that point Świątek burst into laughter and said: 'Am I a good liar?' She added after more laughs, 'Oh, my God. I couldn't play poker.' It was a particularly enjoyable moment because Świątek has had a difficult time of late, and has not always been at her most relaxed. She also got her wish: Rybakina beat Ostapenko, before Świątek beat Rybakina in a thriller to reach the quarterfinals. Futterman: Ben Shelton loves the show. In his opening match, he flipped a desperate passing shot over the net while sprinting toward the back of the court. It felt great off his racket, and with his back to the net, he didn't see the ball land. Advertisement When he heard it called out, he asked the chair umpire how close it was to the line. These questions usually happen when a ball is an inch or less out, with the chair umpires pinching their thumb and forefinger in the universal tennis sign language for 'pretty close.' I've never seen an umpire hold his hands more than a foot apart the way this one did. Hansen: Gauff admitting that she aired a message from Alcaraz on social media when she made her breakthrough at Wimbledon in 2019. The worst prediction? Eccleshare: I thought Sabalenka would beat Gauff in straight sets in the women's final. I said they'd be tight, but I just thought Sabalenka would be too strong. In the end, it was Gauff who brought her best level, outlasting and ultimately outplaying the world No. 1. Advertisement Futterman: With Alcaraz down a break late in the fourth set of the men's final, I wrote on our live blog: 'Carlos finally looks like this is a lost cause.' That was at 7:11 p.m. local time. We all know what happened over the next hour and a half. Hansen: I thought Tereza Valentová had a serious chance of beating Gauff in their second-round match. She has the kind of game that can hurt Gauff and the American hadn't grooved into form. Gauff ran Valentová off the court. The best storyline? Eccleshare: The way elite athletes' sacrifices are lionized is a bit odd, and inconsistent with pretty much every other profession: utter dedication at the expense of all else is expected to be the norm, and anything different to this approach is seen as strange. Advertisement So it was thought-provoking to hear Alexander Bublik, a mercurial talent who represents Kazakhstan, talking about how he works hard but needs to have balance in his life, like seeing friends and having proper time with his wife and son. Speaking to his long-time agent added more color to this complex and intriguing character. Bublik's approach is at odds with most of the tour, but he feels what he does is totally normal. And it took him all the way to the quarterfinals, taking out Jack Draper in the fourth round with one of the finest displays by anyone all fortnight. Futterman: Tournament directors kept putting men in the featured night match, many of which were one-sided affairs over in two hours. The women's matches that would have been obvious choices for that slot produced long, scintillating contests. Nothing like letting the rackets do the talking. Hansen: Alfie Hewett's pain and joy. The British wheelchair tennis legend went through another heartbreaking loss on the Paris clay, but he rebounded from it on the same day to complete one of the most remarkable records in the sport. Advertisement Hewett's rivalry with Tokito Oda, 18 and from Japan, is fast becoming an epochal one. Oda beat Hewett at Roland Garros to win Olympic gold last summer in a three-set thriller. They met again at Roland Garros this year for the men's singles final, and Oda prevailed in straight sets, giving him a 5-2 head-to-head against Hewett in major finals. A few hours later, Hewett took to the court to face Oda again, this time in the men's doubles. Hewett played with Gordon Reid, in a partnership that has won 22 Grand Slam titles; Oda played with Stéphane Houdet of France. Hewett and Reid won the match in three sets, to complete what I am dubbing the Grand Slam double bagel. They are six-time champions in the Australian Open and six-time champions at Roland Garros. A 6-0, 6-0 record at the first two majors of the year. The biggest letdown? Eccleshare: The scheduling was once again a big disappointment. Women were never given the Court Phillippe-Chatrier night session, and were handed the graveyard slot at the start of play every day that it was available. It meant matches like world No. 1 Sabalenka's quarterfinal against Olympic champion Zheng Qinwen were played in front of near-empty stands. Sabalenka and other leading players called out the unequal scheduling. Advertisement Tournament director Amelie Mauresmo continues to say that the night session decision is simply because men's matches are longer and so offer spectators better value for money. There's a bigger picture around equality, to which the tournament generally seems oblivious. Futterman: I wanted to see Frances Tiafoe play Alcaraz in the semis. Their matches at the U.S. Open and and Wimbledon have been electric. Alcaraz brings out the best in Tiafoe, and likely would have won, but together they would have put on show. Lorenzo Musetti got in the way — and then he injured his leg in the semifinal and was cooked after just over two sets. He retired early in the fourth. Hugo Gaston, the French drop-shot and underarm-serve artist, pulling out of his second-round match against Shelton's high-octane arsenal, comes a close second. Hansen: The French Open's bafflingly restrictive media rights policy, which limits highlights from being posted outside of official channels and copyright-strikes fan footage, player footage and the montages, GIFs and fan cams that bring tennis stars to a wider audience scattered across the internet. Alcaraz and Sinner's men's final is the kind of cultural moment that can propel tennis back to the relevance that it had in the era of the Big Three and the Williams sisters. Let as many people see it as possible, in whatever form meets them where they are. The best newcomer? Eccleshare: Wild card Loïs Boisson's stunning run to the semifinals was one for the ages: the lowest-ranked woman (No. 361) to reach a major semi in the 40 years since records (collected by Opta) began. Boisson did it playing an exciting brand of tennis that scrambled the minds of top-10 players Jessica Pegula and Mirra Andreeva. Only recently back from an anterior cruciate ligament (ACL) tear, Boisson is now up to No, 65 in the rankings and tennis fans will hopefully be seeing a lot more of her. Advertisement Futterman: Victoria Mboko, the Canadian daughter of war refugees from the Congo has become the main player I am keeping my eye on right now. I found about her at the Miami Open in March, met her at the Italian Open in Rome in May, and watched her blossom in Paris, surviving qualifying and winning two matches at 18. Hansen: The ITF World Tennis Tour, which became a place of intrigue for more casual tennis fans at this French Open — hardcore followers (guilty) will have watched Boisson, Mboko and Valentová make waves at a Grand Slam and thought, 'Yeah, of course.' Players that break through are so often figured as unicorns. A trio of players making their first runs on the biggest stage in tennis, all three of whom did it on the back of remarkable win-rates and streaks on the third rung of the professional tennis ladder, is a reminder that looking for signs of sustainability to the success is just as important as celebrating the unexpected. Favorite quote? Eccleshare: Sabalenka delivered a withering news conference after losing to Gauff, criticizing her own play, saying that Gauff had hit balls 'off the frame,' and going as far to say that Świątek would have won the final had she beaten Sabalenka in the semifinals. The American slapped down this notion in her own news conference with an extremely dignified dismissal. Advertisement 'I mean, I don't agree with that. I'm here sitting here,' she said. Futterman: I asked Jasmine Paolini during a one-one-one interview what she thinks her superpower is. 'My smile,' she said. And then she showed me from about 18 inches away. Hansen: Świątek's, 'Am I a good liar?' Best shot? Eccleshare: This one has to come from the men's final. So many to choose from, but the one that stands out to me is the crosscourt backhand passing shot Alcaraz hit at 5-6 in the fifth set, from so deep that he was almost with us in the press box. It took the match into a fifth set tiebreak, and from there he took over to win the title. Advertisement Futterman: Alcaraz's running forehand to win the final. He was ahead 9-2 in the tiebreak, but after all the ups and downs of this match, all the missed chances, there was an urgency to that moment. It was his first match point of seven available, but after five and a half hours, he needed to be done with this in one swing of his racket. On a full sprint across the baseline, he produced a swing-like-you-mean-it grunting stroke that Sinner watched fly past him like the whole match had done. Non-finals choice: Holger Rune's play around the net post against Quentin Halys in the third round. Nothing like defying the rules of the game like that, hitting a winner that never rises more than about eight inches off the ground. Hansen: Carlos Alcaraz 4-6, 6-7(4), 6-4, 7-6(3), *5-6, 30-30 Jannik Sinner. Alcaraz has already gotten from 15-30 to 30-30, when Sinner fizzes an arcing forehand return into the corner of the court. Alcaraz, stretching in desperation, flicks out his racket to play a defensive slice. For any other player, the best they could offer would have been a short reply or a miss in the net. Alcaraz curves it all the way back to Sinner's own forehand corner, flipping the point — and the course of the last game of the last set of a Grand Slam final — back in his favor. Sinner puts up a shortish ball and Alcaraz dismisses it with a backhand winner. Then he gets to the tiebreak with Charlie's shot, and wins the title with Matt's. Advertisement Thanks to the aforementioned media policy, we can't show any of them here. Recommended reading: Tennis needed the Alcaraz-Sinner rivalry to be epochal. Their first major final delivered beyond its dreams Coco Gauff's journey into a tennis unknown How Loïs Boisson became the star of the French Open When a tennis court comes alive: The living clay of Roland Garros 🏆 The winners of the week 🎾 ATP: 🏆 Carlos Alcaraz (2) def. Jannik Sinner (1) 4-6, 6-7(4), 6-4, 7-6(3), 7-6(10-2) to win the French Open in Paris. It is the Spaniard's fifth Grand Slam title. 🎾 WTA: 🏆 Coco Gauff (2) def. Aryna Sabalenka (1) 6-7(5), 6-2, 6-4 to win the French Open in Paris. It is the American's second Grand Slam title. 📈📉 On the rise / Down the line 📈 Loïs Boisson moves up 296 places from No. 361 to No. 65 after her incredible run to the French Open semifinals. Boisson, who started the tournament as the French No. 24, is now the No. 1 women's player in the country. 📈 Alexander Bublik ascends 19 spots from No. 62 to No. 43 after reaching the French Open quarterfinals. 📈 Victoria Mboko enters the top 100 for the first time, after rising 21 spots from No. 120 to No. 91. Advertisement 📉 Casper Ruud drops eight places from No. 8 to No. 16 after failing to defend his semifinal points from last year's French Open. 📉 Iga Świątek falls two places from No. 5 to No. 7 after Aryna Sabalenka ended her French Open title defense. 📉 Stefanos Tsitsipas moves down six spots from No. 20 to No. 26. 📅 Coming up 🎾 ATP 📍Stuttgart, Germany: Stuttgart Open (250) featuring Alexander Zverev, Ben Shelton, Taylor Fritz, Gaël Monfils. 📍's-Hertogenbosch, Netherlands: Rosmalen Grass Court Championships (250) featuring Daniil Medvedev, Gabriel Diallo, Ugo Humbert, Alexei Popyrin. 📺 UK: Sky Sports; U.S.: Tennis Channel 💻 Tennis TV Advertisement 🎾 WTA 📍London: Queen's (500) featuring Zheng Qinwen, Emma Raducanu, Elena Rybakina, Madison Keys. 📍's-Hertogenbosch, Netherlands: Rosmalen Grass Court Championships (250) featuring Liudmila Samsonova, Bianca Andreescu, Maria Sakkari, Danielle Collins. 📺 UK: Sky Sports; U.S.: Tennis Channel Tell us what you noticed this week in the comments below as the men's and women's tours continue. This article originally appeared in The Athletic. Sports Business, Tennis, Women's Tennis 2025 The Athletic Media Company
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UFC 316: 3 things we learned that went under the radar
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Advertisement Bautista put on a "Welcome to the League" masterclass and showed Mix he was not going to cakewalk his way into the ranks. The fight remained standing for 15 minutes, with both men throwing nearly the same amount of strikes; Bautista landed 173-of-302, while Mix landed 122-of-304. In what was one of the most anticipated UFC debuts in recent years, Mix's feet looked like concrete blocks standing on quicksand. On the other hand, Bautista took the chip on his shoulder and dipped it in the mix to show the level differences. Kayla Harrison excluded, several big names have been shut down in their UFC debuts after making the jump from other promotions as of late. Mix joins fellow Bellator champion Patricio Pitbull, who lost to Yair Rodriguez in April, and former RIZIN champion Asakura, who was gifted a title shot in his debut and got submitted by Alexandre Pantoja in the second round. However, this theme dates all the way back to the UFC's DVD era. Advertisement Remember Mauricio Rua's UFC debut in 2007? "Shogun" was one of the biggest stars in Pride FC but got stunningly submitted by "The Ultimate Fighter" winner Forrest Griffin in his first UFC fight. Bautista made a statement for himself and showed his worthiness of that coveted UFC ranking. It's a movie we've seen before and continues to get remade. Don't skip leg day MarQuel Mederos used leg kicks to defeat Mark Choinski at UFC 316 (Michelle Farsi/Zuffa LLC) (Michelle Farsi via Getty Images) If you don't know by now, lower-body attacks continue to prove their effectiveness in the Octagon. Saturday's event was no exception as the leg and calf kicks were on full display early into the card. Advertisement The use of leg attacks in Newark would make the likes of Jose Aldo, Edson Barbosa and hip-hop legends A Tribe Called Quest proud. It started with the very first fight in the evening as MarQuel Mederos rocked Mark Choinski's foundation en route to a decisive victory on the cards. Mederos landed 32 leg strikes, mostly targeting Choinski's calf — and it paid off exceptionally. The leg attacks resulted in three knockdowns in the second round as Choinski was heavily compromised and forced to switch stances. Three fights later, Wang forced da Silva to protect her left leg instead of focusing on her upper-body attacks by landing 40 of 43 leg strikes throughout their 15-minute bout. The early onslaught on da Silva's legs allowed "The Joker" to beat her body and head up as she struggled to retreat with her wheels locked. Advertisement Wang landed 75 strikes to the head and 28 to the body while chopping at da Silva's calf. In the second round, one of the leg kicks dropped da Silva and nearly led to a finish. Although the Brazilian found some momentum late in the fight, her inability to attack from the leg kicks early on put her two rounds down as Wang secured the decision. While viewers mostly opt for headhunting affairs, there's few things more brutal than a masterful leg-chopping performance. The leg kick is one of the most effective and used weapons in the sport, yet it still feels underrated and under-appreciated. Take note. And if you don't know, now you know.
