Sir Andy Murray has hinted that he has no immediate plans to return to coaching following a brief stint as Novak Djokovic’s coach. In a move that shocked the sport, Murray teamed up with the 38-year-old for the Australian Open, just three months after he had played his final match as a professional.
The partnership ultimately ran for six months before the two players announced in May that they would no longer be working together. Djokovic has since turned to his former coach, Dusan Vemic.
Two-time Wimbledon champion Murray admitted in July that he was unsure if coaching was for him. However, it emerged in September that if Murray were to return to coaching, he would likely look closer to home, opening the door to a potential future partnership with Emma Raducanu.
The Bromley-based star, who is currently coached by Francisco Roig, often trains at the National Tennis Centre in Roehampton. But any hopes of an immediate link-up with Raducanu have been dashed by Murray, who has revealed his immediate ambition is to try and be a good dad and a good husband.
“Right now, I just want to be around for my kids,” he told the i. “I don’t think it’s the easiest time for kids growing up with the problems associated with screens, phones, and social media.
“I think it’s a little bit tricky to navigate. My ambition is to try and be a good dad and a good husband, and when the kids are more grown up and are able to take care of themselves, then I’ll focus a little bit more on what I want to do with that stage of my life. But right now, I’m really happy doing what I’m doing. It’s a big responsibility bringing up children.”
In a wide-ranging interview, Murray also revealed that he started to notice the way women are treated differently when he started to be coached by Amelie Mauresmo. He said: “I really noticed the way women are treated differently when I started to be coached by Amelie Mauresmo [his coach from 2014 to 2016].
“Many players would comment on the fact that I was being coached by a woman, and the media would question me about it, particularly after losing a match, which I’d never experienced before. It wasn’t fair.
“And then I started to notice the disparity more and more with journalists asking questions which would dismiss women’s achievements or forget about them altogether. Commenting on this was not something I pre-planned but I started to pick up on it.”
And opening up on the injuries he endured during his career, three-time Grand Slam winner said: “The injuries I had during my career definitely taught me about patience.
“There was a feeling – I think this is true for everyone – that life isn’t fair. It isn’t. Stuff happens that is out of control to everybody, every day. It’s just something you have to deal with.
“The only way that I dealt with it was by focusing on all the things that were going to give me the best chance to recover as quickly possible, such as training properly, going to the gym, eating properly, and getting the right nutrients.”
Murray has also become a golf fanatic since his retirement and recently played at the Alfred Dunhill Links Championship alongside golf pros like Ryder Cup winners Tyrrell Hatton and Robert MacIntyre.
Murray has taken part in numerous pro-am golf tournaments since hanging up his tennis racket last August and has previously revealed his ambitious aim to enter regional qualifying for the Open Championship.
“I don’t have ambitions of playing in The Open, but I want to try and play in like the regional qualifying at some stage,” he said.
“A couple of my friends have done it and it would just be a fun thing to do if you got to the level where you’re able to do that. I would do it, but I certainly don’t think I would have any chance of qualifying for The Open.
“I’m fully aware of how good the players that play in those events are and how good the pros are in comparison to amateurs. Even guys that play off plus-2, 3 are miles off what these guys are.”