Andy Murray makes plea to tennis chiefs after highlighting ‘stunning’ subject
Andy Murray has pleaded with the WTA to make modifications to assist enhance the variety of feminine coaches in tennis, having observed a giant disparity. Following his Wimbledon exit, the Brit has insisted that “it’s about time” for change, having been one of many few gamers on the lads’s tour to have such a excessive affect from feminine coaches all through his profession.
He labored together with his mom, Judy Murray, as a teen coming into the game and continues to name upon the coach for help and recommendation all through his profession. While the three-time Grand Slam champion additionally was coached by Amelie Mauresmo between 2014 and 2016.
Murray has all the time been a vocal supporter of the ladies’s sport and the necessity for equality in tennis, and has now referred to as for extra work to be accomplished to draw feminine coaches to tennis. Of the 128 ladies within the singles bracket at Wimbledon, simply six work with a feminine coach. All of the coaches for males have been males.
The WTA created a Coach Inclusion Programme final 12 months, as 10 candidates have been in a position to shadow veteran coaches. The programme is being expanded in 2024, one thing that Murray believes is optimistic however issued a warning that the work can not cease there.
“I think it [the initiative to increase the number of female coaches] is really important,” Murray mentioned on the Citi Open’s Instagram. “It [the lack of female coaches] is something that I’ve found surprising across both tours, but particularly on the women’s tour. Like how few female coaches there are.
“I think it’s about time that the WTA had an initiative to try and help with this. Hopefully, those numbers increase because it’s a very small amount. Certainly across the men’s tours. And that’s something that needs to change.
“Me and my brother were very fortunate growing up that our mother was, is still, a tennis coach. We grew up with our mom coaching us and helping us. And she’s still, you know, not all the time, but we will still chat to and speak to her about our games and our careers.
“She’s someone that I’ve spoken to about this and she’s been unbelievably passionate about getting girls into tennis, but also the female coaching side of things and trying to get more female coaches involved in the sport.”
The WTA is constant work to try to enhance the variety of feminine coaches in its Player Zone database, however at the moment simply 15 of the 186 energetic coaches are ladies – a quantity that Murray believes is drastically too low and important efforts must be made to enhance it.