- Judy Murray has forecasted her son Andy’s immediate future career steps
- Andy Murray was previously coaching his former rival Novak Djokovic
- But last month, Murray and Djokovic shockingly ended their partnership
Andy Murray’s mother – Judy – has weighed in on what her son’s potential next career step could be after his short-lived coaching partnership with Novak Djokovic.
The two-time Wimbledon champion and his former rival shocked the tennis world at the end of last year with the announcement that the newly retired Murray would be joining the Serbian’s set-up.
Initially announced for the Australian Open, Murray took up his spot in Djokovic’s box at his tune-up tournament at the start of the season in Brisbane.
Djokovic enjoyed a strong showing in Melbourne – notably beating young rival Carlos Alcaraz in the quarter-finals – before he was forced to retire during his semi-final against Alexander Zverev through injury.
But after an unsteady showing on clay, marked by first-round exits at Monte-Carlo and Madrid, the pair decided to call time on their partnership last month.
And now, Judy has revealed the initial reason behind her son’s decision to coach Djokovic, and how the stress he endured while in the role may force him to take a short break before immersing himself in the tennis world so soon.
Judy Murray explained she does not see her son Andy returning to coaching any time soon
Last month, Murray ended his short-lived coaching partnership with ex-rival Novak Djokovic
But Murray’s mother does not see her son rushing back into the tennis world, and expects him to enjoy some time with his four children
‘Andy had just retired and wasn’t looking to go into coaching but he stepped in because Novak asked him,’ she told The National.
‘When they joined up, I was certainly interested to see how he got on being on the other side of things and realising how stressful it can be. I don’t think he’s ready to jump straight back into coaching, though, because the tennis circuit is relentless.’
Judy went on to predict that her son may look for another mentoring role in tennis, perhaps away from full-time traditional coaching.
The 65-year-old added: ‘I can see him doing a consultant type role with young players and he’s already done a lot of mentoring with the British players on the men’s side who are coming through, but I can’t see him being a full-time tennis coach.’
Judy, a tennis coach herself, explained that her three-time Grand Slam-winning son would likely prefer some time with his children before coaching again.
Her ‘guess’ is that he will not make an immediate return to the sport in any capacity.
‘There’s more to life than jumping straight back into the tennis rat race after nearly 20 years as a player. I don’t think he’ll necessarily want to jump back onto that merry-go-round – not when you’re someone who’s got four kids to taxi around and you want to get your golf handicap to scratch.
‘Whether he does it in the future, I don’t know – that’s for him to answer and I actually don’t think he knows the answer either but my guess is not right now.’
Murray has already shifted his focus away from tennis, last month joining a venture capital fund as an associate partner
Murray has already taken up a non-tennis role since ending his partnership with Djokovic.
The Scot shifted his interests back to the business world last month, and was announced as a new associate partner at Redrice Ventures – a London-based venture capital fund.
Under the company’s aegis, Murray will help launch the Redrice Sports Collective, a group of athlete advisors and ‘key decision-makers in sport’ shaping investment opportunities.
Murray already has a stacked investment portfolio which includes his hotel in Scotland, Cromlix, padel tennis court developers Game4Padel and crowdfunding platform Seedrs.
