Jessica Pegula, often known as the world’s richest tennis star, has claimed that Andy Murray may have taken up his brief position as Novak Djokovic‘s coach out of sheer curiosity. Mere months after retiring in the summer of 2024, Murray sent shockwaves through the tennis community when he announced he would be stepping up to coach the 24-time Grand Slam champion.

The two icons joined forces ahead of the Australian Open, where the Serbian superstar reached the semi-finals before retiring through injury. It was then announced in May that their partnership had come to an end by mutual agreement, just six months after the duo had teamed up. Speaking on The Players Box podcast alongside Jennifer Brady, Desirae Krawczyk and Madison Keys, Pegula, who has a net worth of almost £15million and is due to inherit a £5.5billion fortune, said Murray could have taken on the venture so he could get an inside look at Djokovic and see what made his old rival tick.

“I think he was so interested,” Pegula said. “I think he thought, ‘This is so strange, I’m so curious. Why do you want me to coach you but I’m also so interested in how your brain works and how you’re thinking out there’. And I definitely saw them out there.

“I mean, I guess Australia was the first event and Novak was on the bike and he’s there talking about his court positioning like, ‘What should I do?’ and I’m there thinking, ‘What could they possibly be talking about?’

“Novak does everything well, what could they be talking about? They’re so good, is this really making a difference? But it was interesting to see them interacting like that.”

Keys also believed the union was an unusual one, supporting Pegula’s claims that Murray could have taken the opportunity in order to get a glimpse into what makes Djokovic such a formidable opponent.

“Andy and Novak was interesting,” Keys said. “I don’t think we’ve ever really seen rivals in the same era work together… and he was playing the week up until he started coaching (laughs).”

She added: “Wouldn’t it be interesting to get an inside look on how Novak is Novak, and the fact that they were rivals you could see what makes him tick, like, what were things that helped him beat you as many times as he did. I think that would be an interesting inside [look] that I don’t think is really going to happen very often.”

Despite their separation, both Murray and Djokovic have since spoken about their split. The two-time Wimbledon champion revealed that he took on the role as Djokovic’s coach due the “unique opportunity” it posed.

Speaking to The Times in June, Murray said: “We had a chat on the phone and he asked me if I would consider coaching him, which I wasn’t expecting. I think it was a pretty unique opportunity. I was really enjoying being at home but I thought I should give it a go and see whether I enjoyed it.”

Djokovic stated that the duo “couldn’t get more out of the partnership on court” and clarified his feelings on the split ahead of the French Open.

He said: “It was mutual, We both wanted to have a call and to speak, so we – actually, we both were on the same page. So it was not, you know, his initiative or my initiative. It was both of us coming together and just saying, you know, I think we should stop here. That’s what it was.”

“For him to join my team and for us to give a shot to this player-coach relationship was really an incredible thing for tennis and for both of us. I was very privileged and honoured. But I still think that, you know, I have learned things on the court with him, I have enjoyed my conversations with him about tennis, because I still think that he’s one of the most brilliant tennis IQ guys out there.

“Whoever he decides to work with next, if and when, you know, that player is going to be lucky because he has definitely a lot to share, a lot of great insights. It just didn’t work out between us in terms of results, in terms of what we were hoping for, and that’s all there is to it.”