Andy Murray has split with his coach Amelie Mauresmo after two years working together.
The world No.2 has worked with the Mauresmo since June 2014. The appointment of the Frenchwoman was groundbreaking as Murray became the first high profile player on the ATP Tour to appoint a woman as his chief coach. During their time together, the British No.1 claimed seven ATP titles and reached the final of the Australian Open two consecutive times.
“I’ve learned a lot from Amelie over the last two years, both on and off the court. She’s been a calming influence in the team and we will miss having her around,” Murray said in a statement.
“I’ll take some time to consider the next steps and how we progress from here, but I’d like to thank her for everything she has done, she’s been an invaluable member of the team.”
Mauresmo was spotted in Madrid last week, however, she spent little time with Murray. It is understood that her prime focus of the tournament was on her Fed Cup players (Mauresmo is also the French Fed Cup captain). Throughout Murray’s practice sessions at the Caja Magica, he trained with with Jamie Delgado, who he appointed as his assistant coach earlier this year.
The split comes less than two months after Murray denied that there was a growing rift between him and the former world No.1. The comments came shortly after his disappointing loss to Grigor Dimitrov at the Miami Masters.
According to both Murray and Mauresmo, the ending of the partnership was decided by both of them. This year Murray has only worked with the Frenchwoman at two tournaments (the Australian Open and Miami Masters). The traveling difficulties facing Mauresmo, who gave birth to her first child last year, was one of the reasons behind the separation.
‘Working with Andy over the last two years has been a fantastic experience for me,’ Mauresmo said.
‘I’ve thoroughly enjoyed being part of the great team of people he has around him. Dedicating enough time along with the travel has been a challenge for me. I wish him and [the] team well and I hope he goes on to win many more titles.’
Murray will continue traveling the tour with Delgado, who is a full-time member of his team. The split comes a day after the Brit lost to Novak Djokovic in the final of the Madrid Open. The defeat resulted in Murray slipping down the rankings to third in the world.
The next tournament for the two-time grand slam champion is this week’s Rome Masters. Receiving a first round bye, Murray will play either Mikhail Kukushkin or Borna Coric in the second round.
