"Not as early as this": Former world number one highlights why Andy Murray's decision was surprising to coach Novak Djokovic

Former women’s world number one Amelie Mauresmo has highlighted one reason that left her ‘surprised’ with Andy Murray’s decision to coach Serbia’s Novak Djokovic. The 37-year-old, who is regarded as the greatest British player in the history of men’s tennis in the singles category in the Open era, joined the Belgrade-born star as his coach at the start of this year.

The decision was surprising, as Murray, who won three Grand Slam titles in his career, retired from professional tennis in 2024 after representing his country at the Paris Olympics. Former women’s number one Mauresmo recently spoke to the French Open’s YouTube channel, where she highlighted one reason that left her surprised about Murray’s decision.

The 45-year-old, who won two Grand Slam titles in her career, stated that she was surprised by Murray’s decision to join Djokovic so soon after retiring from the sport because she never thought that the former world number one would be okay with travelling once again, after just recently retiring from tennis.

“I was surprised but not shocked kind of. It’s something that resembles both of them. One for Novak to have this kind of thought, having the idea to call Andy,” she said. “Because Novak has been coached by Boris Becker and he is always looking for a new pair of eyes to see his game and bring him new things and also the friendship they have is maybe something that he needed. And then for Andy to say yes, I am not that surprised or not shocked. Because he loves challenges and he is a guy that is curious about everything. I thought he would go into coaching but not as early as this, especially because of the family to be honest. I did not see him travelling again, although he is travelling less than he was playing, but I did not see him travelling as much with the four kids.”