The MURRAY LEGACY
Judy eager for her sons’ success to have a lasting impact on British sport
JUDY MURRAY has called on tennis chiefs not to waste the ‘golden opportunity’ to build on the remarkable success of sons Andy and Jamie by boosting playing numbers across Britain using the groundbreaking scheme she runs in Scotland.
Britain’s most famous tennis mum and her team travel the length and breadth of Scotland in a ‘Tennis on the Road’ van, spreading the game and attempting to convert youngsters to a sport that now has Andy and Jamie as singles and doubles World No1s.
Now Judy is hoping the Lawn Tennis Association, which supports her initiative launched in 2013, will fund Tennis on the Road across the rest of Britain, although she will continue to concentrate her efforts in Scotland to ensure a tangible legacy is created.
Judy said: ‘There will never be a more golden time in British tennis on the back of the Davis Cup win a year ago, Wimbledon and Olympic titles, two No 1s in singles and doubles and Johanna Konta breaking into the top 10 — it is absolutely crying out to grow.
‘We have to sell our sport to parents and that is what Jamie, Andy and Jo are doing by raising the profile all the time on television. They couldn’t do any more to showcase the sport.
‘The way I would go about it is to have a load of these vans dotted around the country, taking our sport into communities and showing people how to deliver it with free sessions.
‘We need activity, not people talking about it, doing research and writing reports. We have to transfer the profile and excitement and translate it into action.
‘One thing I have learnt more than anything in the 25 years I have been involved is that it is all about your pied pipers. People who are passionate and get out there whatever the weather to share the sport. Scotland is where I want to make sure there is a legacy for what Jamie and Andy have done.’
The Murray tennis story reads like a movie script. However, Judy is still to be convinced that what appears to be remarkable to those outside the family would warrant transferring to the big screen.
Besides the Grand Slams, Olympic titles and the World No1 rankings achieved by Jamie and Andy, any film would mention the five awards Judy has received from Scottish universities to recognise her support for the sport.
Last week saw the universities at Aberdeen and Abertay join Glasgow, Stirling and Edinburgh in bestowing honours and, while Judy is understandably proud and flattered, she insists her achievements will not register with her sons because ‘the boys are not impressed by anything’.
So, what about a movie? ‘I was told that Tim Henman and Andrew Castle were discussing the idea that someone should make a film, but I don’t think it is that interesting. There would be a lot of driving around with two young boys.
‘Since Andy won Wimbledon the first time, I have been speaking out more so that people can understand
that, in an individual sport, the onus is on the parents to make things happen.
‘If the boys had gone into football and been signed up, then the club takes care of fixtures, training, kit and transport and pay a wage, but in an individual sport — when you are coming through the ranks — it is up to the parents to make everything happen.’
Judy was a tennis parent who made something happen by creating the first competition Andy ever took part in, which came as a response to a complete absence of tournaments for younger children.
Using her contacts, she set up an Under-10 event at their home-town club in Dunblane and it initiated her involvement in Scottish tennis,
One thing I have learned in 25 years of being involved is that it is all about your pied pipers
eventually leading to a role with Tennis Scotland.
Judy, who stepped down as GB Fed Cup captain earlier this year, explained: ‘When Andy was almost six and Jamie was turning seven, we were playing at the club and Andy said he wanted to play a proper match. Even though he was very small he could cover the court, serve and keep the score and played double handed on both sides.
‘I said: “OK, let’s play a match” and he said “no” because he wanted to play against other boys and, at that age, there were no Under-10 competitions.
‘When I looked at our local leagues, the youngest group was Under-12, which was six years away, so I created a competition by inviting coaches from different parts of Scotland to bring some Under-10 girls and boys to Dunblane. It was so successful those coaches took the idea back to their own clubs and we ended up with a competition. It was an example of creating something when nothing is there.
‘From there I took on the job of creating tennis activity around the Stirling region. We didn’t have any indoor courts and had to operate out of school halls with shiny floors and lines up against the wall.
‘The ball travels far too fast and people were saying you can’t play in there but we had no option because our weather is terrible and this was the biggest indoor area. I learnt how to cope with big numbers of kids and making the best of what we had.
‘In 1994 the first indoor centre was opened at Stirling University five miles from where we live and that was tremendous. Suddenly we had four indoor courts and everyone wanted to use them. ‘A year later I took on the role of national coach and I had no business doing the job because I had no experience, just a passion and a drive having made things happen in our local area. ‘I had just finished the Performance Coach award with the LTA which had taken a year to complete and while it gave me a portfolio and a lot of information, it didn’t make me a good coach. That takes years and years.
‘When I got the job with Tennis Scotland, I had a £25,000 salary and a budget of £90,000 for everything from age seven to seniors. I had no staff and the indoor courts costs at Stirling University had to come out of that budget. I picked 20 children from across Scotland who I felt were the most promising and created a development squad — and out of those players we got Jamie, Andy, Colin Fleming, Jamie Baker and Elena Baltacha.’
Judy, who is waiting for a decision from a Scottish Government report on her plans for a multi-millionpound tennis and golf academy in Stirling, spends 50 days a year with her Tennis on the Road team crisscrossing Scotland, taking the sport to communities that have never played tennis.
Getting youngsters off their phones, tablets and couches and involved in tennis is at the heart of her passion for the game.
While Jamie and Andy operate in the rarefied atmosphere at the very pinnacle of the sport, their mother helps deliver tennis at other end of the spectrum.
‘I spend a lot of time travelling around the country visiting schools and clubs in Scotland taking Tennis on the Road to deprived areas and remote places where you wouldn’t normally see the sport being played,’ she explained.
‘We spend three days in the area building a workforce in the community from teachers, parents and students and show them how to deliver tennis in whatever area they have available. There is so much emphasis on minitennis and it would be better to target adults because they become the workforce that create opportunities for tennis.
‘The investment has to be into the grassroots, facilities at that level to enable you to tap into new markets. People need a public facility which has to be free or inexpensive. We need a much bigger workforce and it’s a bit like going back in time.
‘In the places we go to, you won’t find courts or money to pay coaches and tennis lessons are expensive, so we must make it affordable and accessible. If they don’t have a court, we use a piece of rope between two chairs. We recognise that our sport is difficult to learn and can be to teach.
‘These days when children play it is normally involving a screen and sitting down indoors. Most children who come to sports coaching or PE lessons are uncoordinated. Those skills need to be developed and it is hard to hit a ball over a net if they cannot even catch a ball.’
The LTA have announced they will expand their Tennis for Kids initiative, aiming to provide 20,000 children in Britain with a free racket and tennis lessons in 2017, and Tennis on the Road would be designed to supplement this work.
‘A British tennis initiative could happen and I have been talking to Michael Downey (LTA chief executive) about replicating the Tennis on the Road programme down south next year,’ added Judy.
Having seen her sons become World No1s, win Grand Slams and Andy keep his Olympic title in 2016, does she expect the boys to take it easier in the new year?
‘I know that Andy and Jamie will be trying even harder to achieve more next year because that is the way they are wired,’ said Judy.
‘Whatever happens from now, they have already achieved enormous amounts and made the family and the country proud.
‘I thought it would be difficult to top 2015 after winning the Davis Cup but it will be harder to top two No1s in 2016. Let’s just wait and see what 2017 brings.’
There will never be a more golden time for British tennis to build on