Novak Djokovic announced on Saturday that his long-time rival, Andy Murray, has joined his coaching team, starting with the Australian Open in January.
“I’m thrilled to have one of my biggest rivals on my side of the net, this time as my coach,” Djokovic said in a statement. “I look forward to starting the season with Andy and having him by my side in Melbourne, where we’ve shared many unforgettable moments throughout our careers.”
Murray, a three-time Grand Slam champion who retired from competitive tennis after the Tokyo Olympics in August, expressed his excitement about the new role. “I’m very excited about this and look forward to being on the same side of the net for a change. I’m also grateful for the opportunity to help him achieve his goals for the upcoming year.”
Djokovic posted a video on X (formerly Twitter) showing moments from Murray’s playing career, cheekily captioned: “He never liked retirement anyway.”
The 37-year-old Djokovic has won the Australian Open a record 10 times, including victories over Murray in four Melbourne finals. However, he missed out on a Grand Slam title in 2024 and slipped to seventh in the world rankings. His lone major success this year came in the Olympic singles competition in Paris, which he called his “greatest achievement.”
Djokovic was defeated by Jannik Sinner in the Australian Open semi-finals and lost to Carlos Alcaraz in straight sets in the Wimbledon final. He remains level with Margaret Court on the all-time list for most major singles titles and is eager to surpass her in Melbourne.
The pair’s rivalry includes 36 matches, with Djokovic emerging victorious 25 times. Nineteen of these encounters were in finals, including seven Grand Slam finals. Two of their major meetings were particularly significant: Murray’s breakthrough Grand Slam win at the 2012 US Open, where he triumphed in five sets, and his historic Wimbledon victory in 2013, where he became the first British man in 77 years to win the title.
“We’ve been rivals since we were boys, pushing each other beyond our limits for 25 years. We’ve had some of the most epic battles in tennis,” Djokovic remarked. “They called us game changers, risk takers, history makers. I thought our story was over, but it turns out it has one final chapter. It’s time for one of my toughest opponents to step into my corner.”
Djokovic ended his coaching partnership with Goran Ivanišević in March, despite winning 12 Grand Slams together. Ivanišević had acknowledged that working with Djokovic could be challenging, given his intense drive to make history. “Especially when something’s not going his way, it can be very complicated,” Ivanišević said after Djokovic’s 2023 French Open victory.