Why Andy Murray still sees a coach in himself and believes Novak Djokovic can reach No 25

Andy Murray has admitted he would return to coaching and has already fielded several offers, but says the timing needs to be right before he commits to another stint on the sidelines.

Speaking exclusively to Sky Sports, the three-time Grand Slam champion and former world No 1 also backed Novak Djokovic to win a record-breaking 25th major title, insisting the 38-year-old Serb still has everything it takes to rewrite history.

Andy Murray on coaching and why he is not ready to dive back in just yet

Andy Murray joined Novak Djokovic's coaching setup in November 2024, just three months after hanging up his racket at the Paris Olympics, and the partnership lasted six months before the two mutually agreed to part ways in May 2025.

They worked together through the Australian Open and three other tournaments, and while the results were mixed, Andy Murray came away from the experience with a clear appreciation for what coaching actually demands. "I learned a lot," he said, with characteristic self-deprecation adding that Novak Djokovic "probably learned nothing" from him.

The experience of being thrown into the deep end alongside one of the greatest players in history forced Andy Murray to confront his own limitations as a coach, the communication, the listening, the ability to make someone else the focal point rather than himself.

He described how having four children had helped him develop precisely those skills, teaching him to see situations from another person's perspective. As for a return to the dugout, he was clear that the appetite is there, just not the circumstances. "I've had a few opportunities to coach but I don't really want to do loads of travelling right now unless it's with my family," he said.

Why Murray believes Novak Djokovic can still reach 25

Novak Djokovic made history at the US Open 2023 by winning his 24th Grand Slam title, drawing level with the all-time record, but the 25th has proven stubbornly elusive since.

He finished runner-up to Carlos Alcaraz at Wimbledon in 2024 and again at this year's Australian Open, and the question of whether a 39-year-old can navigate seven matches across two weeks at a major without his body breaking down is one that grows louder with each passing month.

Andy Murray, who knows Novak Djokovic's game as well as anyone having studied and competed against him for the better part of two decades, believes the potential is still very much there.

He pointed to Novak Djokovic's ability to beat both Alcaraz and Jannik Sinner at recent majors as evidence that the level remains elite, the challenge is purely one of preparation and physical management. "The difficulty is when you get to the age that he's at, if you play too much tennis, you risk injury, or not being fresh for the majors but then if you're not competing enough and your body is not match-hardened... it is also very difficult," Andy Murray explained.

Last year Novak Djokovic reached the semi-finals of all four majors but picked up three separate injuries across those events. Getting that balance exactly right, Murray suggested, is the only remaining obstacle between Novak Djokovic and history.

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The playing career Andy Murray has no regrets about

Murray's own career was defined as much by what he overcame as by what he won. Three Grand Slams, two Olympic singles gold medals, and a world No 1 ranking achieved in an era that also featured Roger Federer and Rafael Nadal, a trio against whom Murray finished with a combined record of 25 wins and 11 losses in overall meetings.

The hip-resurfacing surgery in 2019 changed what was possible for him, but it did not change his relationship with the sport itself. Andy Murray admitted he could have retired four or five years before he eventually did at the Paris Olympics, but the love of training, travelling, and competing kept him going long after the results stopped reflecting the player he had once been.

"I'm very proud of what I managed to achieve in a very difficult era," he said. "I got to play against the three best male tennis players of all time. It was special times." What strikes him most, he added, is that he does not miss it, not because the career was anything less than extraordinary, but because he left on his own terms, when his body told him it was time, with nothing left to prove and everything still to look forward to.

Golf, Jamie and life after tennis

Murray's retirement has not exactly been sedentary. He has taken up golf with genuine enthusiasm and is now preparing to compete against his brother Jamie, who recently announced his own retirement from tennis after a decorated doubles career.

Asked who the better golfer is between the two brothers, Murray was not shy about it. "Right now, it's me," he said, though he acknowledged that Jamie, apparently a strong golfer in his teenage years, would likely close the gap quickly now that he has time to play regularly. It is the kind of sibling rivalry that suggests the competitive instinct has not gone anywhere. It has simply found a new fairway.