Andy Murray opens up on quitting UK after he uprooted to another country
Andy Murray has warned young tennis players to avoid making the same mistake he did in his youth. The 38-year-old, who won three Grand Slam titles, developed a love for tennis as a child after being introduced to the sport by his mother Judy.
The former Wimbledon champion devoted his early years to tennis, although he has shifted his focus to golf in retirement. Despite being a promising footballer, Murray turned down an offer to train at Rangers’ academy to pursue a tennis career.
At just 15, the tennis icon made the bold move to relocate to Barcelona for training. However, he has now advised others not to follow in his footsteps due to the impact it had on his education.
During an appearance on snooker legend Stephen Hendry’s Cue Tips, Murray delved into his decision to move to Barcelona. “So I moved there when I was 15 and studied there for like a year, but, yeah, no qualifications,” he said.
“I actually, I mean, things worked out fine for me, but I regret that. Like you said, I would not give that advice to my own children. If they were in that situation, I’d be like, ‘Look keep doing your sport or what your passion is but just keep up with [education].’
“People hear about the success stories. I went over to Barcelona to train and they see that that’s what a top player has done so they then think, ‘Oh, I must send my kid there because that’s how they’re going to become top tennis players.’
“But at the academy I was at, there would have been 200, 300 kids there during that time and only two or three of them would have become professional players. So, I wish I’d spent more time focusing on my education.”
Murray expressed concern about young prospects trying to emulate his career path, including his mistakes. The Olympic gold medallist also admitted to missing the opportunity to learn Spanish while living in Barcelona.
