The former world No. 1, Andy Murray, may have ended his journey as a player in August 2024, but he has not stayed far away from the sport. He joined his longtime rival Novak Djokovic’s team at the Australian Open in pursuit of a 25th Grand Slam title. While that did not work out as expected, the Brit is not shying away from exploring a new coaching role.

However, it was a surprising move when Murray became Djokovic’s new coach. The duo had defeated Carlos Alcaraz in a dramatic quarterfinal in Melbourne, then retired from the semifinal against Alexander Zverev after a set due to injury. This was complemented by a Miami Open final appearance, where Nole lost to 19-year-old Jakub Mensik. Their collaboration came to an end after the Madrid Open in 2025. Now, while Murray has stepped back from coaching for the time being, he has not ruled out a return in the future.

“I think at some stage I probably would (consider a return to coaching). My priorities are lying elsewhere just now, but I would do it again in the future,” Murray said on Express. “I do like the idea of helping a much younger player, a little bit like – not that I would expect it to turn out like this – the Ferrero-Alcaraz relationship. A younger player that you’re really able to help and have a really positive influence on. I would find something like that quite interesting, but certainly not right now.” 

Juan Carlos Ferrero and Carlos Alcaraz spent seven years together, during which they won 24 ATP tour titles, including six Grand Slams. The 2003 French Open champion was with Alcaraz since he was a 15-year-old. The Spaniard used to train at the JC Ferrero Equelite Sport Academy, and under Juan Carlos Ferrero’s guidance, the young prodigy rose through the professional ranks. Their relationship has been one of the most successful player-coach partnerships in the modern era, especially considering they started from scratch.

They parted ways at the end of the last year, stating the decision as “mutual” and ending it on good terms. Though Juan Carlos Ferrero had wished to continue, advice from other members of the world No. 1’s team and the contract termination played a major role in the decision.

Murray wishes to coach someone similar, with whom he can be a part of the journey from the beginning. This would allow him to nurture the player and achieve great heights with them. While he is not looking to take any coaching roles currently, he stated some lessons he learned from his previous experience, which he will implement in his next partnerships. 

Andy Murray reflects on lessons learned from Novak Djokovic’s coaching stint

The 38-year-old spent just six months with Novak Djokovic, but it was enough for Andy Murray to gain some learning experience. There were instances in which the results did not meet his expectations, but still, he got something out of it. 

“It was unfortunate what happened in Australia with the injury, but I watched him play ridiculous tennis in that tournament. Amazing, just so, so good, so impressive what he’s doing,” Murray said while reflecting on the partnership.

After the injury blow, Djokovic had a tough time, which Murray admitted not only affected the player but also the entire team.

“After the injury, it was certainly a difficult few months for him, but also I think for the team and all of us. So, yeah, I was disappointed. Probably didn’t get the results I would have liked for him. But I learned a lot about what coaching is,” he added.

According to Murray, the experience of being thrown into the deep end forced him to learn both his strengths and weaknesses rather quickly.

“And because it was throwing yourself in at the deep end, you find out a lot about yourself and some of your strengths, some of your weaknesses as a coach. I think it’s important for a coach to bring a good energy. So it’s something that if I ever coached again, I would work on and try to do a better job of it,” Murray concluded. 

Murray is not going back to coaching at this moment. But his reflections indicate that in the future, he will be able to coach with a better vision, and possibly with an emphasis on how to mold the future generation of tennis stars.