Throughout the twists and turns of his career, there’s been one constant at tennis star Andy Murray’s side – his mum Judy Murray.
The dedicated mum-of-two has undoubtedly been a driving force behind the success of Andy, whose competitive tennis career came to an end today when he and Dan Evans were eliminated from the men’s doubles at the Paris Olympics.
The three-time Grand Slam winner had confirmed prior to the games that this would be his final tournament. But their run in the French capital was ended in the last eight as they were beaten in straight sets 6-2, 6-4 by American pair Taylor Fritz and Tommy Paul.
Throughout it all, mum Judy has been resolutely by his side. She too played professional tennis in the 1970s, and won 64 junior and senior titles in Scottish tennis before turning her hand to coaching her young sons.
She nurtured and protected the traumatised duo after they survived the Dunblane massacre at their primary school in 1996, and it was Judy, 64, who flew Andy to tennis camp in Barcelona after rival Rafa Nadal gave him an insight into training away from gloomy Scotland.
According to the Independent, after being beaten by the Spaniard in the European Under 16’s finals, he told his mum: “Rafa’s out in the sun all day. He hardly goes to school and he’s playing four and a half hours a day. I’m playing four and a half hours a week. It’s not enough.”
Despite having just split from Andy’s dad Willie, she didn’t hesitate to allow her son to leave home and move overseas to pursue his dreams. Living up to her promise, just 15 weeks later he moved to Spain. And unlike some pushy parents, Andy has always insisted he loved the sport so much because his parents gave him the freedom to choose.
