Surround yourself with people who make you feel good
FROM WELLBEING WALKS TO AVOIDING ENERGY-SAPPERS, JUDY MURRAY TALKS TO FAGAN ABOUT HER APPROACH TO LIFE AND WELLNESS
THERE’S a price to be paid when both your children are Wimbledon-winning tennis players – going through the “torture” of watching them compete. “I’ve found it harder and very stressful as the years have gone on, and definitely harder since they both got to the top of the game,” admits Judy Murray, 61, mum to Andy and Jamie.
“It’s torture watching your kids perform in anything where there’s a win/lose outcome,” she says.
“I try to be calm and apply common sense to it, but it’s a mixture of excitement and tension.”
Judy – who is currently supporting the Sea For Yourself campaign to support local fishermen, by buying, cooking, eating seafood caught in UK waters – has a unique perspective, after years of being a court-side parent, as well as a professional coach and leading figure in women’s tennis. “There’s adventure and excitement on the climb to the top. But when you get there, the expectation increases and it’s almost like you can only be knocked off then,” she reflects.
“It takes a completely different mindset to stay at the top, from the one it takes to get to the top.” Her sons’ record is impressive. Andy’s won 46 singles titles, including winning Wimbledon twice, while Jamie’s triumphed in doubles, also winning twice at Wimbledon.
They’ve just competed in the US Open, and Andy is working on regaining his form following hip surgery after suffering with injury problems that pushed him close to retirement. It’s been “tough”, as his mother, watching his battle to recover over the last two years. “As a parent, you want things to go right for your kids. Injury is part and parcel of sport, but this particular injury has taken much longer than anyone would have imagined to find the right way to fix it. He’s doing really well,” Judy says proudly.
Chatty and charming, Judy is clearly glad she’s shed her own unwanted title of ‘pushy mum’. “The media painted me as that in the first Wimbledon Andy played in, in 2005, when he was 18. They only showed pictures of me baring my teeth or fist-pumping,” she recalls with a sigh. “It was hard to take, and you just have to keep reminding yourself that the people who matter know the real you.” She regards the personal attacks on her as sexist. “It seems to be perfectly all right to be a competitive dad, but there’s something wrong with being a competitive mum,” she says. “After Andy won Wimbledon in 2013, I did feel vindicated, and then people saw the real me when I took part in Strictly Come Dancing in 2014, and realised I was normal, could laugh at myself and have fun.”
When asked how lockdown has been for her, Judy says: “It was good for me because it made me stay at home. “Normally, I’m the sort of person who can’t stay still and I spend my time living out of a suitcase and jumping on and off aeroplanes, but I surprised myself by really loving slowing down.
“It really gave me a chance to reflect on where I’m at, where I want to be in the future, and who I want to do things with.
“I’m planning to scale back – but I don’t think I could retire completely because I’m so passionate about my work as a Women’s
Tennis Association community ambassador, and dedicated to bringing tennis into rural and disadvantaged areas in Scotland through my Foundation.”
Judy is also embracing cooking after years of teasing from her sons about her lack of skills in the kitchen.
“When I turned 60, I decided it was a milestone and about time I learned how to cook,” she says. “Andy and Jamie do make jokes about my cooking all the time. “While I admit it’s not something I’ve ever enjoyed particularly, I do point out they seem to have grown up to be strapping, healthy young men, so my meals couldn’t have been that bad over the years!
“I’m loving sourcing fish locally and cooking some of the one-dish fish recipes from Fish Is The Dish.” During lockdown, Judy kept active by cycling. “Swimming, my favourite exercise, wasn’t possible for months, so my road bike turned out to be a saviour during lockdown,” she says. “I also have a trampette for low-impact exercise, a padded hula hoop, and I do stretching routines. I take vitamins, tablets to boost joint health and cod liver oil.”
Enjoying the outdoors is a priority for Judy.
“Getting outside and exercising is incredibly important for my wellbeing,” she says. “If I feel a bit low, I’ll take a long walk.
“It’s key to surround yourself with people who make you feel good about yourself, shut out energy-sappers and negativity.”