Rise in female coaches ‘will be Murray’s legacy’

Amelie Mauresmo believes an increase in opportunities for female coaches should be seen as Andy Murray’s legacy.

Murray broke the mould in 2014 by hiring Mauresmo and both parties were shocked by the reaction from within the game and the scrutiny that followed.

That partnership ended in 2016 but Mauresmo has returned to the men’s game this season as the coach of her countryman Lucas Pouille and has guided him to his first grand slam semi-final at the Australian Open where he plays Novak Djokovic today.

His success has once again brought attention on to the male-female dynamic, with Pouille saying on court after his quarter-final win over Milos Raonic: “It’s not about being a woman or a man, you just have to know what you’re doing and she does.”

He has not received the sort of negative messages Murray did, and Mauresmo said of the Scot: “It’s one part of his legacy.

“He’s been really outspoken about equality, about women being able to coach, whether a male player or a female player.

“He’s been really proactive in this area so it’s definitely going to be one thing that people remember about him.

“And the fact that he hired me at the time probably put the idea, at least in Lucas’ mind maybe, to think, ‘Yeah, maybe she can help me’.”

Mauresmo has always been keen simply to get on with the job rather than enter into gender politics.

She added: “It was much, much bigger with Andy, it was also the first time, it was four or five years ago, so things change a little, not that much.

“Lucas wasn’t such a high-profile player as Andy was at the time so the attention was not as big.

“It’s becoming bigger now because he’s in the semis but, for me, I don’t really care about this, to be honest. I just make sure we do the right job every day and that’s what matters.”

Female coaches are unusual at the top level across the sport, not just in the men’s game, but Mauresmo has company in the last-four club at Melbourne Park with Karolina Pliskova coached by two women – former Wimbledon champion Conchita Martinez and Australian Rennae Stubbs.