Tennis player Novak Djokovic, 37, owner of 24 Grand Slam titles and remaining member of the “Big 3” of world tennis, announced on his social networks this Saturday (23) that he will have Andy Murray, his old rival, as his new coach for the 2025 season.
The 37-year-old Scot, winner of three Grand Slams, had said goodbye to the courts during the Paris Olympic Games in August this year.
According to a statement published on Djokovic’s official website, the focus of the partnership will be the preparatory period and the Australian Open, held in January, where the Serb will try to lift the cup for the 11th time.
“I’m excited to have one of my biggest rivals on my team, on the same side of the net, this time as coach. I’m looking forward to starting the season with Andy and having him by my side in Melbourne, where we’ve shared many extraordinary moments throughout of our careers”, says Djokovic in the statement.
Former number 1 for 428 weeks, the Serbian currently occupies seventh place in the world rankings. In 2024, he won just one title, but the most anticipated of his career: the Olympic gold medal, in Paris. The podium also gave him the “career Golden Slam”, the name given to victories in the four main tournaments on the tennis circuit (Australian Open, Roland Garros, Wimbledon and United States Open) and Olympic gold.
Murray, in turn, has also been at the top of the world rankings for 41 weeks and has in his collection two Wimbledon titles and one US Open title, as well as two Olympic gold medals, in London 2012 and Rio 2016. He was also a five-time Australian Open finalist. His defenders say the “Big 3” was, in fact, the “Big 4”, with the Scot having challenged the hegemony of Djokovic, Roger Federer and Rafael Nadal throughout their careers.
“I will be with Novak’s team during the preparatory period to help him get into the best shape possible for the Australian Open. I’m really excited about it and looking forward to being on the same side of the net as him for a change. I’m also grateful for the opportunity to assist him in pursuing his goals for the coming year,” Murray said in the statement.
On the court, the now partners faced each other 36 times, with 25 wins for Djokovic and 11 for Murray.
The announcement of the new partnership comes just four days after another Big 3 member said goodbye to the courts: Rafael Nadal, who played his last match on Tuesday (19). Swiss Roger Federer had already retired in 2022.
