"It hurt a lot": Andy Murray's former coach shares experience of working with one of the greats of modern game

Tennis coach Daniel Vallverdu has opened up about his journey while working with the former world number one Andy Murray. The 37-year-old, who is regarded as the greatest British player in the history of men’s tennis in the singles category in the Open era, having won as many as three Grand Slam titles, retried from professional tennis in 2024 after struggling with fitness concerns.

Murray’s former coach, Vallverdu, who is now working with Bulgaria’s Grigor Dimitrov, has been recently quoted in a report by The News & Observer, where he opened up about his journey while working with the former British star. The 39-year-old stated that his experience while working with Murray was like going to ‘Harvard’ and working with the ‘best professor in the world’. Vallverdu also stated that to date, he regrets that his partnership ended with the former world number one.

“For me I always say working with Andy as my first job as a coach was like going to Harvard and being there for 10 years with the best professors in the world,” he said. “Not only the experience but also the demand that comes with it- everyday you have to be a 100%. For me, that's why I always saw it as- not going to be a long-term relationship. We were together for 5 years because if you're so sincere and you understand the pressure that exists at that level on a daily basis and above all knowing Andy, the ambitions he had to compete with the big three and each match was a drama whether you won or lost. It's not sustainable to be honest with a player for 10 years every day.”

He continued by saying: “After four and a half years like this I already felt that the personal relationship was not the same as it was 5 years ago. And that's when I sat down with him and I said 'Andy these have been some of the best years of my life and I've loved being with you on the tour, but I think If we continue our personal relationship, it won't be the same in the future that it would hurt me a lot just because of these years of working together so closely'. It hurt a lot, but little by little after a year or two the relationship returned to what it was before and we are both very content with the time we spent together and also with the decision to part ways."