Andy Murray opened up about the reaction of his team after he hired a female coach in a recent interview, emphasizing the reality of sexism in tennis. The British tennis player retired from the sport in August 2024, after competing at the Paris Olympics.
Murray was one of the most prominent players during the course of his career, as he enjoyed the World No. 1 rank in men’s singles for 41 consecutive weeks. He has won 46 singles titles in his career, including three Grand Slams, 14 Masters 1000 series, two Olympic gold medals, and an ATP Finals title.
Along with excelling on the court, Murray has also voiced his opinion on sensitive matters, such as sexism. He once called out a journalist for being sexist in 2017, when the latter ignored Serena Williams’ success, stating that American tennis was not successful. Recalling this moment in an interview with GQ magazine, he said:
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"Serena Williams had won the most Grand Slams out of anyone, male or female, and Venus had won seven or eight Grand Slams, so it was probably the most successful era in American women’s tennis, but it was almost like that was forgotten. In that moment, it was just instinctive," said Andy Murray.
Along with this, Murray also opened up about hiring a female coach and revealed that it wasn't received very well by his team at that time. He called it fascinating because his coach, Amelie Mauresmo, had been ranked No. 1 and had won multiple Grand Slam titles.
"I never used to think about it until I hired a female coach, Amélie Mauresmo. It didn’t get very well received by the locker room and by my team at the time, which is fascinating because she was ranked No. 1 in the world, and won multiple Grand Slams. Had it been a male ex-player, that would have been an amazing hire, but it was the opposite reaction," he added.
Muray didn't stay away from Tennis for too long as he coached Novak Djokovic for a period of six months, starting in November 2024.
Andy Murray opened up about his wife's support during tough times in his career
In the aforementioned interview, Andy Murray also made his feelings known about his wife, Kim, revealing how she was his biggest support during tough times. He spoke highly of her, stating that she encouraged him to play even after they became parents and motivated him when he was struggling physically.
"Even at the end, when I was struggling physically and was not winning many matches, and we had young children, Kim was always so supportive of me continuing to play because she knew I loved the sport and loved playing," said Andy Murray.
Along with this, the former tennis player also shared about how they spent their honeymoon. He lauded her for being understanding as he spent most of their honeymoon training.
"When we got married, our honeymoon was in Barcelona, and I was doing a training block. Essentially, we got to spend a couple of nights with each other, but I was practicing during the day, training and going to the gym and doing all my physio work. (A honeymoon) is very important for most couples. Maybe for her it was too, but she was willing to sacrifice that to allow me to chase my goals."
Andy Murray and Kim met in 2005 for the first time, and they made their relationship public by adorably kissing each other in public after the Briton won a tournament. After experiencing a temporary split in 2009, the couple got married in 2015.
