Tim Henman says he has no intention of following Andy Murray’s lead into full-time coaching despite being appointed the new vice-captain of Team Europe at the Laver Cup. From this year, Henman will act as a mentor to some of the best players in the world alongside the team captain, Yannick Noah, the 1983 French Open champion.
“I think coaching is a far bigger commitment in terms of time, in terms of travel, and I’ve had those offers, but it just doesn’t appeal to me,” said Henman. “And that may change. I would never shut the door on coaching an individual player. I was involved in the ATP Cup, but that was a very specific event.
“I’m so excited about the Laver Cup because of the event itself, and the best players from Team Europe and the team world going at it. But there’s a finite period. The television work I do is structured. It’s around specific events and that balance, for me, is perfect. But that’s horses for courses. Andy didn’t necessarily enjoy the media stuff and always wanted to get into coaching. I advised him to take his time … and the next week, he took a job [with Novak Djokovic]. I’ll say no more.”
This new role also underlines Henman’s growing presence on the circuit. One of the most successful British men’s tennis players in the open era, Henman largely stepped away from the tennis circuit after his 2007 retirement in order to focus on his family. In recent years, however, the 50 year-old has captained the Great Britain ATP Cup and he now works as a broadcaster for Sky Sports. This year’s Laver Cup takes place in San Francisco between 19-21 September, with the involvement of three of the current top four men’s players in Alexander Zverev, Carlos Alcaraz and Taylor Fritz, already confirmed.
“When I stopped playing, my children were very, very young, and I wanted to be at home and be with them growing up,” said Henman. “And now they’re older – they’re 22, 20 and 17 – they’re not at home as much. I’ve always loved tennis, but to have a break away from tennis and now to be more involved with the media side of things, working at the slams and for Sky Sports, it’s great.”
Henman, who is currently working at the Miami Open, reflected on the progress both Jack Draper and Emma Raducanu have made in successive big tournaments this month. Just over a week ago, Draper became a Masters 1000 champion for the first time in his career by winning Indian Wells. Henman said that he would love to see Draper, 23, make his Laver Cup debut this year and he has been in discussions with Draper’s agent, his brother Ben, regarding his presence in San Francisco. His recent success, meanwhile, has come as no surprise.
“I’m not really altogether that surprised,” he said. “I think what is taking place now is the pieces of the puzzle coming together, and those pieces have always been there. But if anything, it’s just, perhaps, a few of the little injuries that have kept him away from building that momentum and tournament play. That’s what I think, again, is exciting. He’s seven in the world. He’s just won his first Masters 1000 and to me, he still hasn’t really played a consistent 12-18 months on tour. There’s always been those interruptions. Hence why he doesn’t have many points to defend, I think, until Stuttgart. That’s exciting. And I think when you take a little bit of a deeper dive into his game, there are very few weaknesses and still areas to improve on.”
This week, meanwhile, Raducanu is enjoying some of the best results of her career outside of her 2021 US Open title run by reaching the quarter-finals of the Miami Open. She will face Jessica Pegula, the fourth seed, on Wednesday. Henman believes that competing regularly this year, even though she struggled last month, has helped Raducanu to unlock this form.
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“The fact that she was out there competing, I think, is the most important thing, because I’ve never, ever doubted her ability. And so she didn’t play particularly well in the Indian Wells, but she’s stuck at it. And now in Miami, with the hard work she’s invested, she’s playing very, very well.”