Andy Murray will make his return to the coaching box in the coming days, as his tenure alongside Jack Draper officially gets under way.
It is one of the most sensational partnerships in recent memory, and one that many had been calling for since he had parted ways with Novak Djokovic last year.
And yet, despite all the justifiable excitement and fanfare surrounding this coaching appointment, any tennis news has been upstaged by Serena Williams’ return to tennis.
This is with good reason, as it’s not every day that a legend of her status makes such a bold decision.
Andy Murray, whilst at Queen’s over the last week, has now given his opinion on the comeback, whilst also revealing what they spoke about when they met one another recently.
Andy Murray gives his honest opinion on Serena Williams’ tennis comeback
Speaking to BBC Sport, the 39-year-old began by discussing the conversation he had recently shared with the 23-time Grand Slam champion.
He revealed: “She asked if I missed playing and I was like, ‘No, like, not at all, to be honest.’ And I said, ‘How about you?’ she said, ‘Yeah, I miss it every single day. Like, I absolutely love competing, love playing’, and to see her back on the court, competing, playing doubles here, and then, you know, I think she’s playing with her sister, with Venus at Wimbledon as well. It’s brilliant for tennis.
How excited are you for Andy Murray to join Jack Draper’s team?
What a signing!
“To achieve that much success in such a challenging sport, and to do it for as long as they have, and remain so in love with the game, at the stage of their lives that they are at is brilliant to see.”
Then, asked if he could ever see a 44-year-old Murray follow in Serena Williams’ footsteps and return to tennis, he laughed as he replied: “As much as I would love to, I don’t think physically, I’d be capable of doing that.
“I haven’t missed the sport enough yet to want to even get on the court and even just hit tennis balls.
“Like, I don’t mind watching from the sides and hitting the occasional ball that is required on the practice court, but I don’t think 44-year-old me will be competing anytime soon.”
Elsewhere, Draper explained what he has found weird about being coached by Murray, having announced their partnership back in May.
When Andy Murray and Serena Williams played doubles together at Wimbledon
Murray has always held so much respect for Serena, during their playing days and seemingly now in retirement.
After all, the Scotsman is renowned for being one of the biggest advocates for the women’s game, routinely championing both her and her sister, among others, as global stars worthy of equal praise and equal pay.
So, it should come as no surprise that Murray was keen to link up with Serena when possible on the doubles court, which they did during the 2019 Wimbledon Championships.
Coming almost six months after the three-time major champion had just had serious hip surgery, they enjoyed a fairytale run, winning two matches, including one against a seeded pair, before coming unstuck against the top seeds.
What do you think Serena Williams needs to do to make her comeback successful?
They did steal a set from Nicole Melichar-Martinez and Bruno Soares, but the pair, who boasted a combined age of 69 at the time, could not snatch another win.
They exited the event in the Round of 16, and afterwards Serena said: “I think to play on this stage with Andy, who has done so well here for so many years, is literally just a lifetime experience. I’m so happy that I got to experience it.”
