Andy Murray’s mum admits she ‘will get herself into hassle’ as she requires change
Andy Murray’s mom has admitted she typically will get herself into hassle for talking up for ladies’s rights and equality, as she known as for adjustments to be made to tennis’ ‘elitism’ drawback. Judy Murray, who has been a passionate supporter of her two sons all through their respective tennis careers, is delighted to see extra feminine tennis coaches making their approach into the sport – however thinks excessive prices are making it troublesome for fogeys to help their kids to play the sport.
The 64-year-old coached Andy, 36, and Jamie, 37, earlier than following them everywhere in the world as they participated in numerous tournaments. While Andy has loved his personal interval of domination of the boys’s singles recreation, successful three Grand Slam titles, Jamie has been a profitable doubles’ participant over the previous 20 years.
She has campaigned for extra feminine coaches to attempt teaching like she did and insists she isn’t afraid to stir the purpose if it means getting her level throughout – particularly if it means enhancing circumstances for feminine staff.
“Those of you who know me know that I like to raise awareness of certain things and often get myself into trouble doing so, particularly on the female side and the need for more women in the workforce, the need for more equality of opportunity in the sporting world in general,” Ms Murray said, as per The Independent. “But the thing of having more female coaches for me, that was a big thing.”
Ms Murray, speaking at the Henley Literary Festival after the release of her novel The Wild Card – which looks at the ‘Haves’ and ‘Have-nots’ in the tennis world – has also been candid in her assessment of the spiralling costs in grassroots tennis.
When reflecting on their tennis education as teenagers, she has spoken about her regret in sending Jamie down to Cambridge to play tennis, as he would return to Scotland six months. And Judy recognises that without a ‘huge’ effort from parents, taking kids to their tennis games across the country, paying for lessons and equipment is a much more difficult job than if they were to play in team sports.
She added: “The thing of the ‘Haves’ and ‘Have-nots’, that’s one of the things that I’ve always hated about tennis – the elitist image that it has of being difficult to do, difficult to access and expensive.
“I’m very aware that when you start to progress through tennis, it is very, very expensive,” she added. “Because when you outgrow your own catchment area – for us, our catchment area of Scotland, you have to travel down south – the costs are huge. The time commitment is huge. And not everybody can afford to do that with their kids.
“In an individual sport, the onus is very much on the parents to make it all happen. If my kids had been great at rugby or football or cricket, they’d have been signed up by the club and the club would have taken care of the fixtures, of the kit and the training.
“They’d have been paid a salary, paid bonuses and I would have been completely anonymous in the background, driving the car maybe once in a while. But in something like tennis and I guess golf, the parents had to make it all happen.”