Andy Murray was a giant in an era dominated by Roger Federer, Novak Djokovic and Rafael Nadal.
Despite having to go through at least one of the ‘big three’ at almost every tournament, the Briton managed to secure 46 titles in his career, including three Grand Slams.
Murray won Wimbledon twice, emerging victorious at the All England Club in 2013 and 2016, while also hoisting the US Open title in 2012.
In 2016, he finally clinched world number one status, taking the top spot in the ATP rankings after reaching the Paris Masters final that year.
It was then, however, that Serena Williams‘ former coach, Patrick Mouratoglou, thinks Murray ultimately ‘destroyed his body’.
Patrick Mouratoglou discusses burnout among ATP players
In a post on Instagram, Mouratoglou was reacting to Djokovic‘s recent interview on Piers Morgan Uncensored, during which the Serb discussed burnout among tennis players.
The Frenchman said: “Burnout happens when you don’t listen to yourself. You don’t listen to your body. You don’t listen to your mind.
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“You have mini burnouts. This is how you learn, ‘Oh, those were signs of the burnouts coming, but I didn’t listen. Next time I will listen’. That’s how you learn. You need to make mistakes to understand.
“I think Carlos [Alcaraz] is a great example. He made the mistake the year before [2024]. He kept going. He went to the US to play the US tournaments, and then he wasn’t there, the mind was out.
“Then they realised it was not the right way to do it. The year after, they made it different, and it worked.”
Carlos Alcaraz suffered early exits at both the Cincinnati Open and the US Open in 2024 after a busy summer, but won both tournaments in 2025 after enjoying more time off following the grass swing.
Mouratoglou continued: “Another example is Andy Murray when he wanted to become number one in the world.
“At the end of the season [2016] he did a crazy marathon playing every single week to get the points. He ended up becoming number one in the world, but then he paid a crazy price. Surgery. He destroyed his body”
Murray won five consecutive tournaments at the end of the 2016 ATP season, triumphing in Beijing, Shanghai, Vienna, Paris, and the ATP Finals.
- China Open: Champion – Defeated Grigor Dimitrov in the final
- Shanghai Masters: Champion – Defeated Roberto Bautista Agut in the final
- Vienna Open: Champion – Defeated Jo-Wilfried Tsonga in the final
- Paris Masters: Champion – Defeated John Isner in the final
- ATP Finals: Champion – Defeated Novak Djokovic in the final
In 2017, however, Murray suffered a hip injury, which resulted in him undergoing surgery that would derail his career.
Patrick Mouratoglou Novak Djokovic’s 2016 burnout was ‘normal’
In Djokovic’s interview, he said he finally experienced burnout for the first time in his career weeks after winning Roland Garros in 2016.
Mouratoglou said of his admission: “It’s normal that you go through mental moments where your motivation is affected by the fact that you’ve won so much.
“You’ve achieved so much, and the next goal doesn’t represent a motivation that is maybe high enough to feed your motivation.
“So I’m not surprised that this kind of thing happens to all the big champions at some point. Otherwise, you’re not a human, you’re a machine. Nobody’s a machine.”
After going all the way at the French Open, Djokovic crashed out in the third round of the 2016 Wimbledon championships to Sam Querrey.
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