FRENEMIES

Novak Djokovic Announces Longtime Tennis Rival as His New Coach

Andy Murray, the recently retired British tennis legend, will be joining his many-time opponent’s team.

Tennis superstar Novak Djokovic has a new coach who knows his game better than just about anyone else—his longtime rival Andy Murray. The Serbian announced that he was teaming up with his fellow one-time world No. 1 in a Saturday post on X, which featured a brief compilation of the pair’s countless on-court duels set to dramatic music. “We played each other since we were boys, 25 years of being rivals, of pushing each other beyond our limits,” Djokovic said in a voice-over for the video. “We had some of the most epic battles in our sport. They called us game-changers, risk-takers, history-makers. I thought our story may be over. Turns out it has one final chapter. It’s time for one of my toughest opponents to step into my corner.” Murray hung up his racket in August after playing at pro level for 19 years, winning two Olympic championships and three Grand Slams. “He never liked retirement anyway,” Djokovic wrote in the post’s caption in a reference to Murray’s own retirement post.