Andy Murray will coach his fellow Briton, Jack Draper, during the upcoming grass-court season
Making his second foray into coaching, following a largely unsuccessful stint with Novak Djokovic last year, Murray will attempt to guide Draper back into the top 100 when he returns from injury.
The news excited British tennis fans, but split opinions elsewhere.
How excited are you for Andy Murray to join Jack Draper’s team?
What a signing!
Former world number one John McEnroe has now delivered his verdict on Draper and Murray’s new partnership.
John McEnroe says Jack Draper hiring Andy Murray ‘really makes sense’
During TNT Sports’ coverage of the French Open, McEnroe shared his thoughts.
“I love that, I think so, I’m so into that,” he said.
“That’s going to be just the talk of the town. I can’t wait.
“That seems like it really makes sense.
“The Novak [Djokovic] thing was great to talk about, I couldn’t understand that at all.
“It’s like me calling Ivan Lendl, ‘Hey do you want to coach me?’, I don’t know about that…”
Djokovic hired Murray ahead of the 2025 season, but they split after a poor start on clay.
Novak Djokovic’s record with Andy Murray as coach (12-7)
| Tournament | Andy Murray in attendance? | Performance | Match wins | Defeat |
| Brisbane International | No | Quarter-final | 2 (Rinky Hijikata, Gael Monfils) | Reilly Opelka |
| Australian Open | Yes | Semi-final | 5 (Nishesh Basavareddy, Jaime Faria, Tomas Machac, Jiri Lehecka, Carlos Alcaraz) | Alexander Zverev |
| Qatar Open | No | First round | 0 | Matteo Berrettini |
| Indian Wells | Yes | Second round | 0 | Botic van de Zandschulp |
| Miami Open | Yes | Final | 5 (Rinky Hijikata, Camilo Ugo Carabelli, Lorenzo Musetti, Sebastian Korda, Grigor Dimitrov) | Jakub Mensik |
| Monte Carlo Masters | No | Second round | 0 | Alejandro Tabilo |
| Madrid Open | Yes | Second round | 0 | Matteo Arnaldi |
Murray will be hoping to achieve more with Draper, who has only played nine matches this year.
Missing the second half of 2025 with a bone bruise injury, Draper only returned in February, but then missed most of the clay season due to a separate knee problem.
Jack Draper’s 2026 record (5-4)
- Davis Cup Q [WIN] vs Viktor Durasovic, 6-2, 6-2
- Dubai Tennis Championships 1R [WIN] vs Quentin Halys, 7-6, 6-3
- Dubai Tennis Championships 2R [LOSS] vs Arthur Rinderknech, 5-7, 7-6, 4-6
- Indian Wells 2R [WIN] vs Roberto Bautista Agut, 3-6, 6-3, 6-2
- Indian Wells 3R [WIN] vs Francisco Cerundolo, 6-1, 7-5
- Indian Wells 4R [WIN] vs Novak Djokovic, 4-6, 6-4, 7-6
- Indian Wells QF [LOSS] vs Daniil Medvedev, 1-6, 5-7
- Miami Open 2R [LOSS] vs Reilly Opelka, 6-7, 6-7
- Barcelona Open 1R [LOSS] vs Tomas Martin Etcheverry, 6-3, 3-6, 1-4 (RET)
Assuming he is fit to do so, Draper will play Queen’s and Wimbledon on grass this year.
The 2026 Queen’s Club Championships begin on Monday, June 15.
John McEnroe and Mats Wilander pick the players they would like to coach on the ATP Tour today
After discussing Draper and Murray’s new partnership, McEnroe was asked which current player he would gel with best as a coach.
“To me, and I think he is doing a great job by the way, Ben Shelton’s dad,” he said.
“And that also, would clearly be part-time.
“Because if you’re coaching, you’re all in 30, 40 weeks a year now, these top guys expect that, even some of the lower-ranked guys.
“So if you’ve got a guy who’s doing a great job like the old man, and then you come in and maybe add that little bit, without getting in the way or taking credit, if ultimately you just want to be a part of it, that would be a great thing to try to do.”
McEnroe would be interested in helping top-10 star and fellow American Ben Shelton on a part-time basis.
Shelton is one of the most exciting and charismatic players on tour and won a Masters 1000 title at last year’s Canadian Open.
Perhaps the addition of McEnroe would help him break through to win his first Grand Slam…
Sweden’s Mats Wilander named a different player.
“You know, I’m so far away from that right now, and it’s so different coaching today. I think you would like to spend a little bit of time, maybe with someone like Arthur Fils, would be really fun,” he said.
“But they spend so much time together, they go for lunch together, they go for dinner together, they have their teams around them, it’s just a different environment, I’m not sure I would enjoy that as much.
“Maybe five, ten minutes here and there, and maybe a practice week with somebody.
“What I’m saying is, just before a match or something, and then maybe a practice week would be really interesting and fun.”
Shelton and Arthur Fils might want to consider taking McEnroe and Wilander up on their offers!
