After working together for only six months, Novak Djokovic and Andy Murray announced on Tuesday that they had ended their player-coach relationship.
Shortly after his retirement to play tennis last year, Murray went to the coach and faced his former rival on the field in Djokovic as the first major client.
Murray the guideant, Djokovic was eliminated in the semifinals of Australian Open earlier this year. This will prove to be the only Grand Slam tournament during which Murray trains Djokovic, because the change of Tuesday was made less than two weeks before the start of the France 2025 Open.
According to Russell Fuller of the BBC, the end of the partnership between Djokovic and Murray would have been a mutual decision.
In a press release, Djokovic expressed his enemy of appreciation Murray, saying: “Thank you, Andy coach, for all the hard work, the pleasure and the support during the last six months on and off the field – really appreciated our friendship together.”
Murray has provided a similar statement, saying: “Thanks to Novak for the incredible opportunity to work together, and thanks to his team for all their hard work in the last six months. I wish Novak all the best for the rest of the season.”
Djokovic, 37 years old, is undoubtedly the greatest tennis player of all time, but his results this year were much lower than his usual standards, because he has a file of only 12-7 in 2025.
Djokovic has not yet won a tournament this year and has only reached one last, losing against Jakub Menšík, 19, in the Miami Open final in March.
Since then, Djoker has spent 0-2 suffering from first outings in the hands of Alejandro Tabilo and Matteo Arnaldi at Monte-Carlo Masters and Madrid Open, respectively.
These two tournaments are played on clay, which makes it an important development for the French Open. Having lost against Tabilo and Arnaldi in right sets, Djokovic is clearly nowhere near the form he must carry out in order to compete for a French open title.
Djokovic is the leader of all time in the titles of the Grand Slam of men with 24, and three of these titles arrived at the French Open, including his last title of Roland Garros in 2023.
Since he won three of the four Grand Slam in 2023, Djokovic has been in the middle of a drought, because he has not won a Grand Slam title in his last five entries.
He also did only one Grand Slam final during this period, which raises the question of whether his domination over male tennis has ended.
Clearly needing a spark, Djokovic has made a change by separating with Murray, although he is not yet clear who will be his coach or if he even has one when he takes the court to the French Open in a few weeks.
