EXCLUSIVE: The Scot has the luxury of choosing which direction he wants to go next after hanging up his racket at the Olympics in August.
Andy Murray has all of the attributes to move into coaching, according to Tim Henman, but the former British No. 1 has urged the recently-retired star to take time to weigh up his future.
The three-time Grand Slam winner stepped away from his illustrious playing career in August after bowing out of the 2024 Olympics men’s doubles tournament with Dan Evans.
Murray – who will take some time out of the public sphere to spend quality time with his wife Kim and four children – has kept his cards close to his chest on his plans for the future.
He has left a number of avenues open for his post-playing activities and hinted at a possible pivot into a coaching.
That is something ex-professional player Laura Robson is keen to see, with Emma Raducanu and Jack Draper two potential players in need of a mentor. And Henman is adamant Murray would make a fine coach if he wants to stay involved in the game, adding that his ‘tennis IQ’ makes him a good fit.
“There’s plenty of different avenues he could go down and coaching is one that he’s said would potentially enjoy,” Henman told Express Sport.
“Given his tennis IQ, I think he would make a very, very good coach. But right now, we’re having this conversation and it’s been barely been a week since he stopped playing.
“It’s important that he takes his time and, whether it’s six months or two years, that he can just relax, and take a step back to enjoy himself, then look at all the different opportunities because coaching will be one of a long list of opportunities.
“Look, he’s a bright guy and he’s got good people around him, but the one piece of advice I would pass on is that there’s no rush, he’s got plenty of time to make these decisions.”
Henman, who will be working with Sky Sports at the US Open for the second year running, is open to the idea of Murray joining him in the commentary box. But the 48-year-old admitted he doesn’t expect Murray to take up his seat behind the microphone any time soon.
“I have worked with him before, he did some work at Wimbledon, but he has sort of said he didn’t really enjoy that element of tennis,” Henman added.
“It’s such early days, I’m sure because of his love and passion for tennis he’s always going to be around the sport, there are many capacities that he can be involved. We need to be patient and time will tell.”
