The Big 4 Still Runs The Show

ATP 
The Collab To Rule Them All?

It’s the collab that the fashion world envies us right now. Djokovic x Murray. It also confirms that with Novak Djokovic, you should always expect the unexpected. I didn’t see that one coming, and I actually know only one person from the Tour who had this as an option. Props to that coach! So yeah, I kinda fell from my chair while reading the news: NolAndy? The Tennis Twins? Working together? I actually laughed out loud. Others had to check we weren’t on April 1st. Nope, it wasn’t a joke. It’s a gem of an idea to have Murray coach Djokovic, with such a high potential for drama: what’s not to love?

But once the initial shock faded, it kind of made sense. Djokovic has always liked to spice it up in the coaching department, pairing Marian Vajda with Todd Martin, Boris Becker, or Goran Ivanisevic, hiring Radek Stepanek too, for example. He and Andy go way back: they shared the same journey, practiced together so much they could have asked for sparring partners' fees, and they have more or less the same game style. Andy knows Novak’s game inside out, as it’s the game he tried to break down for ages. They also had the same rivals throughout their career until recently. And everybody knows that Murray is a fantastic tennis analyst. I’ll add that they’re both extroverted personalities to the max, with a strong sense of humor.

I have so much hope for that collab

They won’t need to go through the “let’s get to know each other and how we work” phase of a coach-and-player relationship: they already know. Novak won’t have to explain the pressure he’s under to Andy because Andy has lived through the same one. The only mandate you have when you’re in Djokovic’s team is to win Grand Slam titles. Anything but a trophy is a failure. It’s obviously not, but that’s unfortunately the price to pay. So it makes sense to pick someone who had this as his only mandate too. Murray understands the assignment at his player’s DNA level. I’m also wondering about Novak’s underlying motivations here: Is it a signal that the fire is back and that he intends to dominate the Tour again? Or is it the signal that he has entered his very last stretch and intends to turn the last lap into fireworks?

Murray and Djokovic may not even need to talk that much: they know. I’m sure they’re going to spend hours talking about backhands, though. Hours. And drop shots, too. Bless their hearts in advance. Also, you need some serious confidence and résumé to go and tell Novak Djokovic that this or that in his game needs fixing. Not a lot of people can be put on that “allowed to point at flaws” list.

Ultimately, Djokovic picked the only coach he’d trust right away and wouldn’t need any onboarding: his tennis twin. Now, not all former great players make great coaches. One needs to put their ego below the player they’re coaching, and it’s not easy. For someone like Murray, who has been the center of attention his entire career? Well, that’s a challenge. Are we talking about their respective on-court tempers? I mean, you know - and Andy has to know - that there’s gonna be some yelling at some point in the direction of that box. You know that it might also start flying at practice.

That’s just how Novak goes (and how Andy used to go) when things don’t go how he wants them to, and he needs to rant to free his brain. Ivanisevic never talked back. Becker did, but on chosen moments. Vajda was the father figure, but he still got his moments. What will be Andy’s answer? Murray has always been on the shouting side, never on the being yelled at side. But maybe Andy will be the only one Novak won’t yell at or the first one to yell back. Who knows!

If I feel it makes a lot of sense for Novak to pick Andy, I think Murray saying yes might be the most surprising. Sir Andrew is said to have declined other offers from top men and women players, but maybe it was for a full-time coaching position, which he surely doesn’t want to go into right away as he seems to be enjoying his new life (the golf, the show on stage that’s coming, the family time). Working on, for now, a short time with Djokovic is a way to dip his toes into coaching at the highest level without committing too long. “I’d probably be more comfortable sitting up there in a coaching box than somewhere else,” Murray said this year at Wimbledon. Well…

What could possibly go wrong?

What has to be the most fascinating side of this association is how the tempers will match. But Murray being there only for an Australian Open assignment may ensure a honeymoon period. I have such high hopes for these interactions and the coverage of it all. Give us all the popcorn, thank you very much. I just hope it won’t somehow go sour for whatever reason. They have a lot of respect for each other’s careers and have spent so much tennis time together, but at the same time, because they were such rivals and also didn’t share the same opinions on many things, they haven’t shared each other’s off-tennis time that much. There might be a list of topics to avoid and/or buttons not to push. A way to schedule it all so they don’t have to spend 24/7 with each other.

Anyone who knows how these players lead their tennis life and their teams knows that it’s a demanding job from when one wakes up to when one goes to sleep. Very rewarding on so many levels but also very challenging. Both Novak and Andy have extremely strong personalities, are the utmost professionals and the utmost perfectionist type of people. They have zero room in how they see tennis for what they consider mistakes. It’s a relentless way of seeing your job, and it runs through their lives the same way because the job never stops. Can this energy be doubled without imploding? I’m so curious about it.

The Big 4 still runs the show

It’s also never heard of seeing two former rivals deciding to work together right away after one retires like that. So, let’s hope for the best because it’d be amazing for tennis. I’m going to have to say it: Break Point has nothing on what could go down with these two guys. Nothing. The Big 4 will never leave tennis, sports in general, business, or the entertainment industry. They’re the biggest names in the game. They’re the ones able to move mountains and make the money rain. They know they still call the shots when they decide they want to. And they don’t intend to lose that edge. Nobody has retired them except their own bodies.

Now, Murray is joining forces with Djokovic to make sure the last one standing keeps calling the shots. Carlos Alcaraz and Jannik Sinner have surely received the message. All the tennis world has: look at the commotion the announcement made! Similarly, what about the endless debate on how Rafael Nadal retired in Malaga?The eternal hoopla around whatever brand Roger Federer gives his face and money to (see again in the business section below)? I mean, he got Zendaya to sign with On… Not even talking again about how he still carries the Laver Cup?

Mirror, mirror, on the wall, who’s the fairest of them all? We know, They Know, Everybody knows.

DAVIS CUP / BJK CUP
Sinner And Italy Don’t Like To Share

Has nobody ever told them that sharing was caring? Apparently not. Italy confirmed at the end of this 2024 season that the country was the one to beat everywhere now. They got the BJK Cup, the Davis Cup, and obviously Jannik Sinner. French tennis right now is in a corner, staring. Their leaders did something right with all the small tournaments they created nationwide for their young players. They also had Riccardo Piatti, who had been leading the coaching way for years. And there’s also the luck of a generation to see a player like Jannik Sinner landing and get Jasmine Paolini seemingly out of nowhere to revive women’s tennis.

As far as the BJK Cup and the Davis Cup went, here are the things that I will remember, in no particular order:

• Thanasi Kokkinakis is a hell of a player, and his win over Ben Shelton was one of the most entertaining matches of the year.

• We need to start talking way more about Rebecca Sramkova, who pushed Slovakia to the final and a breakthrough season, overcoming impaired eyesight and injuries.

• Iga Swiatek showed lots of grit in Malaga and showed early signs that her fire was back. I loved the mental effort she put out there. She had a strong line on Instagram about her year: “It was the season of not being a superhero and accepting it.” She also confirmed that Linda Noskova was really not a player she liked to face.

• Emma Raducanu made a strong comeback from injuries. Watching her play with such enthusiasm at the BJK Cup was, in any case, a sign that she totally missed the plot by declining to go to the Olympics. She needs to stop whatever planning she was making to peak here or there and just play tennis when she’s fit to play.

• Lleyton Hewitt is another example of a former champion turned great coach: he’s doing an amazing job with Australia’s men’s players and again showed what a great Davis Cup captain he was in Malaga. His choice to send Kokkinakis in singles was key. Hewitt also left his mark in Malaga by going after the ITF for not considering giving the Finals to Australia.

• Bob Bryan made one of the most baffling Davis Cup decisions in history when he benched his doubles specialists to send Ben Shelton and Tommy Paul instead. He thought that the firepower of singles players would take Australia by surprise. And it was a last-minute decision. I’m sorry, what? So, very logically, the USA lost against Ebden and Thompson, and the tennis world was left facepalming at Bryan’s choice.
  I take it as the last sign that the 2024 trend of diminishing doubles players' achievements and skills has peaked. It got to the head of one of the greatest doubles players ever. Bob Bryan, you bring a pair of doubles specialists all the way to Malaga: use it. If you don’t trust them, don’t bring them. How do you bench Rajeev Ram and Austin Krajicek?? Sorry, makes no sense. Bryan saying he has no regret and that he decided that in 15 minutes between matches also sounds like a massive amount of disrespect toward Ram and Kajicek. Instant red card all around. Very disappointing coming from, I repeat, Bob freaking Bryan.

QUESTION OF THE DAY 
Will He Or Won’t He

You were 100% to say you weren’t surprised to see Jannik Sinner taking over Carlos Alcaraz at the end of the year.

“I think that Alcaraz has more weapons to use than Jannik and has a higher ceiling to go to if needed, but Jannik is a steadier player and doesn’t have the dips in his matches like Alcaraz tends to do. Jannik has had a remarkable season, winning the ATP final without dropping a set! Well done,” said Margaret.

BUSINESS / MEDIA 
Wilson is back to a double-digit era thanks to… Federer and Zheng

Wilson Sports Business is having a great Q3, thank you very much. And it’s a lot due to…a retired tennis player. The revenue increased 11% to $300 million. It’s a massive jump from Q2 where the sales were only up 1 or 2%. “Our Tennis 360 strategy continues to be a key driver for the Wilson franchise, led by footwear and apparel growth, performance racquets, acceleration and expansion of Wilson Tennis 360 shops in China, as well as paddle and pickleball growth,” said Amer Sports CFO Andrew Page.

Amer Sports CEO James Zheng explained that “Wilson’s Roger Federer racquet line and the growing popularity of tennis in China following Zheng Qinwen’s Olympic gold medal” were at the chore of the brand’s growth. “We saw record sales at our U.S. Open shop earlier this fall, and our new line of Roger Federer premium performance racquets, bags and accessories, launched in August, has been extremely successful in the first months, driving the strong growth in our key performance racquet segment with potential growth in Q3 as retail inventories normalize and the retail begins accelerating replacement orders.”

MENS SANA IN CORPORE SANO 
Sometimes, it’s the coach…

Zheng Qinwen will experience what happened to Carlos Alcaraz last year in Australia. In 2024, Juan Carlos Ferrero couldn’t be with his player in Australia as he was recovering from knee surgery. And in 2025, it’s Pera Riba who withdraws from the Australian summer of tennis with Zheng Qinwen because of hip surgery, as Marca reported. Dante Bottini, best known for coaching Kei Nishikori, will replace Riba.

delpotrojuan

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It’s awfully sad to read that Juan Martin Del Potro’s life is still mostly pain 24/7. He opened up about it on social media as he prepares for next month's exhibition match against Novak Djokovic in Buenos Aires. “It’s very tough. There are moments where I have no more strength. I’m not indestructible. I have good things, bad things but most of the times I have to fake it and put a good face, but many times I feel terrible. (…) It’s been a never-ending nightmare.” I’m worried about “Del Po,” and I’ve been worried about him for a long time. Maybe the fact that he's speaking up now is a good thing, and I hope it’s the first step in his fight to get his life back. Not his tennis career back, his life. It’s the most important. We know how many former champions have been left broken in various ways by this sport, and I would hate for Del Potro, one of the nicest guys on that Tour, to be added to the list.

SOME BREAK POINTS… 
Robson Gets The Crown

• The Queen’s gets its Queen. Easy, I know. Former player (retired in 2022) turned broadcaster turned Wimbledon’s international players’ team member has now landed the coveted job of tournament director of the women’s event at the Queen’s next year (June 9th) as a WTA 500 will be staged in London. Robson was already a tournament director, as she’s been in charge of the WTA event in Nottingham for the past two years. Her rise has been impressive, and something tells me she’s just starting. “I’m delighted to be taking up this role next summer. It’s very exciting that women’s tennis is returning to the Queen’s Club for the first time in over 50 years. It’s an iconic venue and has been voted Tournament of the Year by the men many times. I’m confident that the women’s event will be just as thrilling, and I can’t wait to get started,” Robson said. Jamie Murray remains the director of the ATP event at the Queen’s, which will start the week after the WTA one.
  

• Rafa is already at football. Obviously. Wherever they are, he will follow. A few days ago, I read Toni Nadal explaining his struggles with Rafa when they were in Australia in New York, and the only thing his nephew was thinking about after winning the title was how he would watch Real Madrid. Bless. Anyway, Nadal quickly bounced back from his retirement from Malaga to travel to England to support his favorite football team. Marca has the details here. There is no way that now that he’s free from professional tennis, Nadal won’t be involved with Real Madrid, right?

EDITOR’S PICKS 

You can find other picks here, including my go-to newsletters for anything tech*, anything backstage* or professional sports*, and the one for everything NIL*. If you’re a solopreneur, you might like this one, by the way. I also have a sweet spot for The Creator Spotlight*, which provides examples of other creators’ journeys. If you are a collector of anything sports-related, look at Above the Mantel. And if you’re a woman looking for better coverage of our lives, issues, and interests, I suggest you, Gloria.

READ: Stuart Fraser sums up, for The Times, the hopeful state of British tennis as Jack Draper rises and Emma Raducanu returns, all in the follow-up of Andy Murray’s retirement.

READ more: There aren’t many books about professional tennis, so when a good one comes along, it needs support. I suggest you give a chance to Paul Fein’s well-documented and original book, “Game Changers: How the Greatest Players, Matches, and Controversies Transformed Tennis.”

WATCH: The holiday season is approaching, and it’s usually my “let’s rewatch the fav” era. In my playlist, one can find The Lord of the Rings, The Hobbit, Little Miss Sunshine, The Hangover or The Wolf of Wall Street. I started early this year because… Nov 5th… They just don’t make these movies anymore these days, I’m sorry. Little Miss Sunshine?! If you’ve never watched it, please do it for your mental health now. If you’ve already watched it 20 times, go for 21. In this day and age, we need it all.