Tennis fans are in heated debate after speculation resurfaced that Andy Murray could take on a coaching role with Emma Raducanu, despite the mixed doubles controversy that unfolded at Wimbledon. The idea of such a high-profile partnership — uniting two of Britain’s biggest tennis stars — has sparked strong reactions across social media and the tennis community.
Andy Murray already admitted he would like to coach Emma Raducanu as the British No. 1 begins her search for a new mentor. The 23-year-old parted ways with Francisco Roig, Rafael Nadal’s former coach, after her second round exit at the Australian Open.
Raducanu confirmed in a statement that the split was a mutual agreement and thanked Roig for “being more than a coach” during their time together. She said: “Thank you for our time together. You have been more than a coach to me and I will cherish the many good times we spent together on and off the court. While we have come to the conclusion together that we ought not to move forward, please know that I am very grateful for all you have taught me and fond of our time shared.
Now, the tennis star will be on the hunt for her next mentor and it seems that Murray has already offered his services to Raducanu in the past. Speaking to Tennis Channel in 2022, the former Wimbledon champion named a number of young British players he’d like to work with.
He said: “Female player Emma Raducanu. Male player – between [Carlos] Alcaraz, [Stefanos] Tsitsipas and [Jack] Draper.”
Prior to his retirement in 2024, Murray was due to play mixed doubles with Raducanu at Wimbledon . However, the British No. 1 withdrew due to a wrist issue and effectively ended the Grand Slam winner’s career with her decision.
While there was controversy surrounding the decision, with fans slamming Raducanu’s late exit from the partnership, Murray cleared up any confusion that the pair were at war. He told The Times: “We exchanged multiple messages since Wimbledon, and things were fine after we cleared everything up.
It was obviously a pretty emotional time for me and everyone around me, so it was hard but, like I said, I was really happy with the way that my career finished.
“I got to play my last match at Wimbledon with my brother. Emma’s not someone that beforehand we were communicating all the time or discussing ideas about her game and things like that, so that hasn’t changed.”
Murray ended up coaching former rival Novak Djokovic for a period after retiring but later admitted he would like to work with someone closer to home in a London-based capacity. Discussing his future in mentoring at the BMW PGA Pro-Am at Wentworth, he said: “Am I waiting for someone to call and ask me to coach them? No, no.
“Obviously with Novak I did it for a period and it was great experience and it was a unique opportunity to do it but there are certain things about the job. If you want to do it well, you need to spend time on the road.”
Opening the door to a potential partnership with Raducanu, Murray added: “If it is a British player that is London-based, it becomes easier because the off weeks, at least you are close to home. But if it is a player who lives elsewhere, it means a lot of time away from the family and I have no interest in doing that just now because I don’t want to be away from them.
“I think in the future I would probably do it again – it is not like I hated it so much that I wouldn’t do it. There were bits of it that I liked but for now I just don’t want to be on the road and I don’t want to do it.”
While he is keen to work with the young tennis star, Murray did note that he didn’t enjoy criticising her and other up-and-coming British players during his time in the commentary box. He said: “I know when I was a young British player I found it very, very unhelpful when people that you knew or looked up to were being critical of you after losses publicly.
You respect their opinions, and often they might differ from what your coach is telling you. When you’re 20 years old, you’re still responsible for the team that you employ.
“If you’ve got an ex-British No 1 or an ex-world No 1 saying they don’t agree with how you hit your forehand or the strategy you use in matches, it can be a bit undermining.
“I know pundits have to do that, but it’s really not helpful for young players, in particular, who maybe are not able to block that out and trust their coaches.
“If any of the younger British players ever want to talk to me privately, I would always do that.”
