ends

Surprise! The Times of Troy is back by popular demand in your inbox, here to help ease you back into your week after what we hope was a relaxing holiday weekend.

I was honored and humbled to hear your thoughts — most of them very kind — about the newsletter’s debut season. So much so that we’ve decided to bring it back before our scheduled return in July.

We’ve got some new ideas in the works for Season 2. But between now and July, when we turn our full attention to previewing the upcoming Trojans football season, we’ll land in your inbox periodically as the moment calls for it.

Now feels like one of those moments.

One of college football’s most storied rivalries is at a crossroads. A century after it was played for the first time, the historic series between USC and Notre Dame is at serious risk of ending. A lot of fans, former players and college football purists are upset about it. Most of them are pointing fingers at USC — and at Lincoln Riley especially.

I think there’s a little more to the situation than that. But the reason USC’s coach finds himself at the center of that frustration stems from comments he first made last summer during Big Ten media day, comments that explain quite transparently where USC stands right now, almost a year later.

USC and Mississippi had just canceled a home-and-home series, and rumors were swirling that Riley had pushed administrators to pull out of last September’s matchup with Louisiana State too. When he was asked what led to those changes, Riley didn’t hide his feelings about how scheduling should be handled. Why would any power conference school schedule marquee nonconference games in the future, he wondered aloud, unless there were “more guaranteed [College Football Playoff] spots in some of these conferences.” Otherwise, he predicted, those games would happen “less and less.”

“Our schedules are already going to be so good,” Riley said. “At some point, you’re like, alright, is the juice worth the squeeze in terms of playing these games?”

Before we address how that logic applies to Notre Dame — and before you start screaming “COWARD!” at your phone/computer screen — let’s acknowledge the fact that Riley has a point. (Ducks.) He is paid — more than all but a few coaches in the sport — to get USC to the College Football Playoff. Period. And as the playoff is currently constructed, there is no real incentive, on paper, for a coach such as Riley to want an extra marquee nonconference game on the schedule. Remove 95 years of context with the Irish and, to his point, the juice probably isn’t worth the squeeze.

This issue runs far deeper than just Notre Dame and USC, but let’s address the golden-domed elephant in the room, since Notre Dame’s athletic director has the college football world worked into a lather.

This is what Riley said about the rivalry last summer:

“If you get in a position where you’ve got to make a decision on what’s best for SC to help us win a national championship versus keeping that, shoot, then you gotta look at it. I mean, listen, we’re not the first example of that. Look all across the country — there’s been a lot of other teams [that] sacrifice rivalry games. I’m not saying that’s what’s going to happen, but you know, as we get into this playoff structure, and if it changes or not, we’re in this new conference, we’re going to learn something about this as we go.”

And boy did USC learn something on the road in its Big Ten debut. The Trojans unraveled on all four of their conference road trips. They realized how hard it would be to mix in an October trip to South Bend during that annual gantlet. No other Big Ten teams have that challenge on the Trojans’ particular timeline. Not to mention there’s a possible Southeastern Conference-Big Ten crossover matchup to consider in the future.

Automatic qualifiers to the College Football Playoff are the quickest way to solve this problem, as far as USC is concerned. It would give teams such as USC comfort that a loss to a nonconference opponent in September wouldn’t keep them out of the playoff. However, it would also mean rendering games such as USC-Notre Dame mostly meaningless as far as playoff resumes go.

USC is choosing to take the cold, calculated route when it comes to this quandary. And I understand why. Why should the Trojans be expected to carry the water for the soul of college football at the cost of their own playoff odds, while the rest of the sport’s leaders, USC’s own included, have made clear just how much tradition actually means to them?

Don’t get me wrong. USC isn’t being brave with its stance. It’s openly acknowledging that it is choosing the route of least resistance, no matter how its fans may feel about it. That’s not exactly valiant. And by calling them out for holding up negotiations, Notre Dame’s athletic director has already won the PR battle. If the rivalry ends after this season, the narrative will forever be that USC killed it with cowardice.

I do think that narrative would ignore some key points. Notably that USC hasn’t said it wants to end the game. Only that it doesn’t want a long-term contract before it understands the parameters of the playoff. Nor was Notre Dame interested at all in having a conversation about any concessions to USC’s situation, such as an early season date for the game, to help get a deal over the finish line. If these negotiations were simply about maintaining the rivalry, Notre Dame would have agreed to play next season already. This isn’t a one-sided stalemate.

I know that USC athletic director Jennifer Cohen would prefer to continue the rivalry with Notre Dame. I know she understands how much equity she could lose if it doesn’t continue.

I also have no doubt that she will take the heat, if necessary, for its demise, if it means putting USC on a better path to the College Football Playoff.

Is that hope of a playoff worth losing a storied rivalry? I’d understand if you said no. But USC leaders have made abundantly clear how they feel about that question. Let’s hope they never have to answer it.

USC-Notre Dame poll

Let’s hear from you. Could a smoother path to the College Football Playoff be worth losing the Notre Dame-USC rivalry? Vote here and let us know. Results announced in the next Times of Troy.

Will Saint Thomas walk onto the court with the Trojans next season?

(Gina Ferazzi / Los Angeles Times)

—USC basketball still has two roster spots available for the 2025-26 season. One is currently being held for Saint Thomas. But it’s not clear how much longer Eric Musselman and his staff are willing to wait on Thomas’ appeal to the NCAA. The sentiment within the program was that Thomas had a compelling case for a mental health waiver, but the gears of justice grind slowly with the NCAA, and Thomas is running out of time. Summer practice kicks off on June 9. If he isn’t granted an extra year, expect USC to fill that spot with a low-major, all-conference-type point guard who could initiate the offense when called upon.

—Six-foot-10 sophomore forward Jacob Cofie is one to watch this summer. USC’s staff is very bullish on the young big man. One person with close knowledge of the program told The Times that they expect Cofie to be on draft boards by the start of Big Ten season. Along with Utah transfer Ezra Ausar — who stands 6-8, 242 pounds — Cofie should give USC much more of a physical presence in the paint, something it sorely lacked last season.

—Leaders from the Power Four conferences are floating a binding document that would force schools to fall in line with the new NIL enforcement entity … or else. It won’t work. I, for one, would love to see the Big Ten try to kick USC or Michigan or Ohio State out of the conference for not bending the knee to the new College Sports Commission. But more critically here, there’s no way that such an agreement would pass legal muster. College sports can’t supersede state law, no matter what some galaxy-brained commissioners might think.

—The College Football Playoff field will no longer give the four highest-rated conference champions an automatic first-round bye. That change to “straight seeding” was unanimously approved last week by CFP leaders, after the initial format last season was received poorly pretty much everywhere outside of Tempe, Ariz. In the new format, the committee’s top-four rated teams will be ranked one through four and get that coveted bye, no matter if they won their conference or not. That might sound like a tedious change. But this is better for everybody.

—Former USC point guard Kayleigh Heckel finally has a transfer destination. Heckel is joining Connecticut months after losing to the Huskies in the Elite Eight in her last game at USC. No one would’ve anticipated that turn in the immediate aftermath of that loss in Spokane. But hey, if you can’t beat ‘em, join ‘em, I guess.

In case you missed it

Rancho Cucamonga cornerback RJ Sermons to join USC a year early

College Football Playoff shifts to straight seeding for upcoming season

USC baseball program looks to continue breakthrough season

USC pushes for one-year renewal of Notre Dame series until CFP bids are clarified

Lincoln Riley made more than twice what USC’s president did in 2023

What I’m watching this week

Tony Reali on the set of “Around the Horn.”

(Phil Ellsworth / ESPN Images)

When I was a kid, still just dreaming up the possibility of writing about sports, I would flip on ESPN every afternoon after school to try and catch Bill Plaschke or Woody Paige or Jackie MacMullan on “Around the Horn.” It was the show that taught me, in my ways, how to talk about sports.

That feels more and more like a lost art these days. And maybe that’s why ESPN unfortunately saw it fit to end “Around the Horn’s” run after nearly 5,000 shows. But I will always hold the show near and dear and forever respect its host, Tony Reali, for reminding the world all these years that sports talk can still have a soul.

Until next time….

That concludes today’s newsletter. If you have any feedback, ideas for improvement or things you’d like to see, email me at [email protected], and follow me on Twitter at @Ryan_Kartje. To get this newsletter in your inbox, click here.

Connor Norby had three hits, including a three-run homer in the seventh inning, and the Miami Marlins ended the Angels’ eight-game win streak in a 6-2 win Saturday night.

Norby’s third home run came on a 1-2 pitch from reliever Caden Dana (0-1) as Miami stopped a three-game slide.

Taylor Ward doubled and scored in the ninth — giving him an extra-base hit for the 10th straight game, an Angels record.

The Marlins took a 1-0 lead in the second against starter José Soriano when Liam Hicks walked leading off and scored on a two-out single by Ronny Simon.

Angels pitcher Jose Soriano delivers against the Marlins in the first inning Saturday at Angel Stadium.

(Gina Ferazzi / Los Angeles Times)

Zach Neto doubled leading off the fourth and Yoán Moncada’s one-out single put runners at the corners, ending Marlins starter Cal Quantrill’s night after just 46 pitches. Ronny Henriquez (2-1) entered and gave up a tying sacrifice fly to Ward before striking out Jorge Soler to keep it 1-1.

Eric Wagaman had a two-out RBI single in a two-run fifth to put Miami up 3-1.

Janson Junk yielded one run and six hits in five innings of relief against his former team for his first career save.

Soriano (3-5) gave up three runs and seven hits in 4 2/3 innings.

The Marlins loaded the bases with nobody out in a 1-1 score in the fifth. Soriano got a double-play grounder from Kyle Stowers that made it 2-1, and Wagaman blooped a single to center for a two-run lead and Miami never looked back.

The Angels also had a team-record seven-game stretch of hitting multiple home runs end.

Up next: Marlins RHP Edward Cabrera (0-1, 5.50 ERA) starts Sunday’s finale against Angels RHP Kyle Hendricks (2-5, 5.32).

The administration of President Donald Trump has begun the process of ending the federal government’s involvement in reforming local police departments, a civil rights effort that gained steam after the deaths of unarmed Black people like George Floyd and Breonna Taylor.

On Wednesday, the United States Department of Justice announced it would cancel two proposed settlements that would have seen the cities of Louisville, Kentucky, and Minneapolis, Minnesota, agree to federal oversight of their police departments.

Generally, those settlements — called consent decrees — involve a series of steps and goals that the two parties negotiate and that a federal court helps enforce.

In addition, the Justice Department said it would withdraw reports on six other local police departments which found patterns of discrimination and excessive violence.

The Trump administration framed the announcement as part of its efforts to transfer greater responsibility towards individual cities and states — and away from the federal government.

“It’s our view at the Department of Justice Civil Rights Division under the Trump administration that federal micromanagement of local police should be a rare exception, and not the norm,” said Harmeet Dhillon, an assistant attorney general at the Justice Department, said.

She argued that such federal oversight was a waste of taxpayer funds.

“There is a lack of accountability. There is a lack of local control. And there is an industry here that is, I think, ripping off the taxpayers and making citizens less safe,” Dhillon said.

But civil rights leaders and police reform advocates reacted with outrage over the news, which arrived just days before the fifth anniversary of Floyd’s murder.

Reverend Al Sharpton was among the leaders who called for police departments to take meaningful action after a viral video captured Floyd’s final moments. On May 25, 2020, a white police officer, Derek Chauvin, leaned his knee on Floyd’s neck for more than nine minutes, causing him to asphyxiate and die.

“This move isn’t just a policy reversal,” Sharpton said. “It’s a moral retreat that sends a chilling message that accountability is optional when it comes to Black and Brown victims.”

He warned that the Trump administration’s move sent a signal to police departments that they were “above scrutiny”.

The year of Floyd’s murder was also marked by a number of other high-profile deaths, including Taylor’s.

The 26-year-old medical worker was in bed late at night on March 13, 2020, when police used a battering ram to break into her apartment. Her boyfriend feared they were being attacked and fired his gun once. The police responded with a volley of bullets, killing Taylor, who was struck six times.

Her death and others stirred a period of nationwide unrest in the US, with millions of people protesting in the streets as part of social justice movements like Black Lives Matter. It is thought that the 2020 “racial reckoning” was one of the biggest mass demonstrations in US history.

Those protests unfolded in the waning months of Trump’s first term, and when Democrat Joe Biden succeeded him as president in 2021, the Justice Department embarked on a series of 12 investigations looking into allegations of police overreach and excessive violence on the local level.

Those investigations were called “pattern-or-practice” probes, designed to look into whether incidents of police brutality were one-offs or part of a larger trend in a given police department.

Floyd’s murder took place in Minneapolis and Taylor’s in Louisville — the two cities where the Trump Justice Department decided to drop its settlements on Wednesday. In both cities, under Biden, the Justice Department had found patterns of discriminatory policing.

“Police officers must often make split-second decisions and risk their lives to keep their communities safe,” the report on Minneapolis reads.

But, it adds, the local police department “used dangerous techniques and weapons against people who committed at most a petty offence and sometimes no offense at all”.

Other police departments scrutinised during this period included ones in Phoenix, Arizona; Memphis, Tennessee; Trenton, New Jersey; Mount Vernon, New York; Oklahoma City, Oklahoma; and the Louisiana State Police.

Dhillon, who now runs the Justice Department’s Civil Rights Division, positioned the retractions of those Biden-era findings as a policy pivot. She also condemned the consent decrees as an overused tool and indicated she would look into rescinding some agreements that were already in place.

That process would likely involve a judge’s approval, however.

And while some community advocates have expressed concerns that consent decrees could place a burden on already over-stretched law enforcement departments, others disagree with the Justice Department’s latest move, arguing that a retreat could strip resources and momentum from police reform.

At the Louisville Metro Police Department (LMPD), Chief Paul Humphrey said the commitment to better policing went beyond any settlement. He indicated he would look for an independent monitor to oversee reforms.

“It’s not about these words on this paper,” he said. “It’s about the work that the men and women of LMPD, the men and women of metro government and the community will do together in order to make us a safer, better place.”

And in Minneapolis, Mayor Jacob Frey doubled down, saying he could keep pushing forward with the police reform plan his city had agreed to.

“We will comply with every sentence of every paragraph of the 169-page consent decree that we signed this year,” he said at a news conference.

“We will make sure that we are moving forward with every sentence of every paragraph of both the settlement around the Minnesota Department of Human Rights, as well as the consent decree.”

Hi, and welcome to another edition of Prep Rally. It’s the greatest weekend for City Section athletics, because the baseball championship games in Open Division and Division I will be held Saturday at Dodger Stadium.

Tantalizingly close

Venice’s Canon King (left) gives a chest bump after his home run against Chatsworth.

(Craig Weston)

It’s the week in City Section sports where dreams come true. The City Section Open Division and Division I baseball championship games will be played Saturday at Dodger Stadium.

“It’s magical,” Venice center fielder Canon King said of what the experience would be like.

A semifinal doubleheader is set for Tuesday at Cal State Northridge in the Open Division, with Birmingham playing El Camino Real at 3 p.m. and Venice facing Sylmar at 6 p.m. In Division I, the semifinals are Wednesday at Stengel Field in Glendale. Taft will play Carson at 3 p.m., followed by Verdugo Hills against Banning at 6 p.m.

Venice, the No. 1 seed, has been led by King, who has hit six home runs. Here’s a profile of him and his teammates.

Baseball

It’s nervous time in the Southern Section baseball playoffs that resume Tuesday. Top-seeded Corona, which got a first-round bye in Division 1, makes its debut at home against Los Osos and will send out pitcher Seth Hernandez, who is 17-0 in high school baseball.

There are no upsets in Division 1 despite the seedings. It’s still about ace vs. ace. The one interesting thing to watch is how well the four teams who got first-round byes perform after being inactive for more than a week. That’s Corona, Crespi, Huntington Beach and St. John Bosco. They better be ready to perform with their ace pitchers or suffer an early exit.

Quentin Young of Oaks Christian has hit 14 home runs.

(Craig Weston)

The Trinity League has done best with Orange Lutheran, Mater Dei, Servite and Santa Margarita all winning their playoff openers. It was a big day for Oaks Christian and Quentin Young, who hit his 14th home run.

Here’s the updated schedule.

Softball

Jackie Morales is one of six freshman contributors for Sherman Oaks Notre Dame.

(Greg Fiore)

Sherman Oaks Notre Dame has become the surprise team in high school softball, eliminating last season’s Division 1 runner-up Orange Lutheran in a 9-7 stunner, then beating El Segundo 12-10. Who says you need a standout pitcher with a freshman named Jackie Morales?

All Morales did was hit four home runs on the week, including three against Orange Lutheran. Top-seeded Norco remains the favorite in Division 1, but in a season without any dominant pitcher, the Knights’ hitting could keep them going far. Notre Dame hosts El Modena in Wednesday’s quarterfinals. Here’s the complete pairings.

The City Section announced its playoff pairings, with Granada Hills seeded No. 1. Here’s the pairings.

Lacrosse

Loyola has been the No. 1 lacrosse team all season and delivered a second Southern Section title with an 11-3 win over Mater Dei in the Division 1 final. Cash Ginsberg scored three goals and Tripp King had two goals.

Foothill upset No. 1-seeded Mira Costa 12-7 to win the Division 1 girls title. Foothill lost to Marlborough in last year’s final. Brynn Perkins scored five goals.

Track

Benjamin Harris of Servite shows emotion after his win in Division 200 final. He also won the 100.

(Craig Weston)

The weather was cool and overcast, but there were some terrific individual and team performances at the Southern Section track and field championships at Moorpark.

There were two ties for team titles in Division 4 boys (Serra and Viewpoint) and girls (St. Mary’s and Rosary). And Division 3 boys came down to the 4×400 relay with Sherman Oaks Notre Dame prevailing over Servite.

Servite’s Benjamin Harris, only a sophomore, ran a 10.32 100 meters. Rodney Sermons, a junior USC commit at Rancho Cucamonga, ran a 10.36 100. Here’s a rundown on the day’s activities.

On Saturday, the Southern Section will hold its Masters Meet at Moorpark and for the first time have 18 qualifiers competing in races and field events, up from nine.

The City Section will hold its championships Thursday at Birmingham High using the school’s new Mondo track surface.

Volleyball

Connor Koski hammers a kill over Venice’s Sam Engelen in the City Section Open Division boys’ volleyball final at Birmingham High on May 17, 2025.

(Steve Galluzzo / For The Times)

El Camino Real stunned top-seeded Venice to win the City Section Open Division championship. The Royals have one of the brightest young coaches in the Southland in Alyssa Lee, who used to play girls volleyball for Tom Harp at Granada Hills. She’s now won a boys title, girls title and beach title.

Here’s the report.

Mira Costa won the Southern Section Division 1 championship. The state championships begin this week. Here are the pairings.

Pitchers to watch

Angel Cervantes of Warren, a UCLA commit, is one of the hardest throwers in the Southland.

(Nick Koza)

There are lots of pitchers scheduled to make an impact in the Southern Section baseball playoffs.

Here’s a look at pitchers to watch over the next couple of weeks.

Interactive sports exhibit

Former UCLA softball pitcher Rachel Garcia stands in the batting cage as the digital Rachel Garcia pitches to visitors at the new Game On! exhibition prepares to open on Thursday at the California Science Center.

(Eric Sondheimer / Los Angeles Times)

The California Science Center next to the Coliseum has opened a free interactive sports exhibit that will stay open through the 2028 Olympic Games. It’s phenomenal, allowing kids and adults to learn about science and participate in baseball, softball, climbing, soccer, basketball and other sports. The first day it was opened saw more than 1,300 visitors.

Here’s a look at something that should become very popular.

Golf

Here come the freshmen. At the Northern Regional for individual golf, freshman Brandon Anderson of Buena won with a 63 and second was freshman Jaden Soong of St. Francis. The individual championships will take place Thursday at Temecula Creek Country Club.

Team titles are scheduled Monday and Tuesday.

Hello Eric

Eric Sondheimer answers questions.

(Nick Koza / For the Times)

It’s time to start a weekly help guide for parents, athletes, coaches, even officials. I’m going to ask questions and answer them with help from others.

First question: “How do I get my coach to notice me more?”

Get to practices before anyone else. Stay until everyone leaves. That lets the coach know you are passionate and committed to getting better. Volunteer to do the little things that coaches notice, like helping to clean a gym floor or bring out water. Show hustle whenever you can. Be bold and talk to your coach and tell him or her that you want to reach your full potential and would appreciate any feedback.

The key is working hard when no one is watching. The coach will see the development and provide a reward known as playing time. If not, keep doing it for yourself and your future. Good grades always bring a smile to any coach. Run extra laps. And you might even tell your coach, “You’re doing a really good job.” They like compliments.

Notes . . .

Former NFL defensive back Troy Hill is the new head football coach at his alma mater, St. Bonaventure. He becomes the second ex-NFL player recently headed to high school football, joining Carson Palmer, who went to Santa Margarita. . . .

Junior receiver Devin Olmande of Newbury Park has committed to San Jose State. . . .

Irvine University and Woodbridge won the Southern Section Open Division and Division 1 tennis championships. Here’s a report on Woodbridge’s win. . . .

Mission Viejo won the Millikan seven on seven passing tournament, defeating San Diego Lincoln in the final. Charter Oak won its own passing tournament title, defeating Rancho Cucamonga, and San Juan Hills defeated Capistrano Valley in the championship of the Dana Hills passing tournament. . . .

Thatcher Fahlbusch from Mira Costa has committed to Hawaii for volleyball.

From the archives: Easton Hawk

Easton Hawk during his Granada Hills days.

(Eric Sondheimer / Los Angeles Times)

UCLA was searching for a reliable closer in baseball this season, and look who’s emerged late in the season: freshman Easton Hawk from Granada Hills High.

He entered the week with four saves in 17 appearances but has come on strong this month to give the Bruins hope he can be a stopper in the NCAA playoffs. UCLA shared the regular season Big 10 championship with Oregon.

He’s always had good velocity. Throwing strikes is important at the collegiate level.

Here’s a story from 2023.

Recommendations

From ESPN, a story on Palisades High’s baseball team rising up despite obstacles from the Palisades fire.

From Globalsportmatters.com, a story on youth sports and mental health challenges.

Tweets you might have missed

ICC says Karim Khan will take a leave of absence pending the conclusion of UN-led investigation into allegations of sexual misconduct, which he denies.

The chief prosecutor of the International Criminal Court (ICC), Karim Khan, has taken a leave of absence pending the conclusion of UN-led investigation into allegations of sexual misconduct against him.

Khan’s office said on Friday that he had informed colleagues he would step aside until the UN Office of Internal Oversight Services (OIOS) wraps up its probe. The OIOS has been conducting the external investigation since December, following complaints raised with the ICC’s oversight body.

Khan has denied the allegations, which were first reported in October last year. The court said that he would remain on leave until the inquiry concludes, though a timeline for its completion remains unclear. During his absence, the court’s two deputy prosecutors will assume his responsibilities.

Khan’s decision to step aside temporarily follows months of growing pressure from human rights groups and some court officials, who had urged him to withdraw while the investigation was ongoing.

“Stepping aside helps protect the court’s credibility and the trust of victims, staff, and the public. For the alleged victim and whistleblowers, this is also a moment of recognition and dignity,” said Danya Chaikel of human rights watchdog FIDH.

The court has not confirmed when the OIOS investigation will conclude, but the case comes at a time of rising global scrutiny of the ICC’s role and credibility.

High-profile investigations

The decision comes as the court is pursuing high-profile investigations, including into Russia’s assault on Ukraine and Israel’s war on Gaza.

Khan requested arrest warrants for Russian President Vladimir Putin for the alleged unlawful deportation of Ukrainian children, and for Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and his former Defence Minister Yoav Gallant for alleged war crimes in Gaza.

The United States, a vocal critic of the court’s recent moves, imposed sanctions on Khan over his pursuit of Israeli officials. ICC leadership has since warned that such political attacks could endanger the institution’s survival.

Tennis great Novak Djokovic and his former on-court rival Andy Murray split days before the French Open after six-month coaching partnership.

Andy Murray will no longer be coaching former rival Novak Djokovic, ending their six-month partnership, the pair announced.

Djokovic stunned the tennis world in November when he said he had hired the retired Murray, who had no track record as a coach, to lead his off-court team.

But the two 37-year-old tennis greats have already parted company, with the former British player thanking Serbian star Djokovic for an “unbelievable opportunity”.

Their split comes after Djokovic, the winner of a record 24 men’s Grand Slam singles titles, endured a difficult start to the season, including losing his first match at his last two tournaments.

“Thanks to Novak for the unbelievable opportunity to work together and thanks to his team for all their hard work over the past six months,” Murray said in a statement released on Tuesday.

“I wish Novak all the best for the rest of the season,” added the Scot, who defeated Djokovic in the 2012 US Open and 2013 Wimbledon finals to win two of his three Grand Slam titles.

Their partnership started well, with Djokovic defeating Carlos Alcaraz at the Australian Open, only to retire through injury during his semifinal against Alexander Zverev.

But success has since proved elusive, with Djokovic saying on Tuesday: “Thank you, coach Andy, for all the hard work, fun and support over last six months on and off the court, really enjoyed deepening our friendship together.”

Murray, who retired after the 2024 Paris Olympics, is a three-time singles Grand Slam winner and former world number one.

The pair go their separate ways less than two weeks out from the 2025 French Open, which begins on May 25 at Roland Garros, Paris.