Andy Murray: Tennis women make the same sacrifices as men
Andy Murray: Tennis women make the same sacrifices as men: Andy Murray practised against both boys and girls in his early years, and went on to play with some of the world’s top female tennis players in mixed doubles. He hit the headlines recently for his comments on gender in sport, including once when he corrected a journalist’s casual sexism. Here, he writes about his hopes for women in tennis.
I’ve never set out to be a spokesperson for women’s equality.
My experience of working with Amelie Mauresmo gave me a small insight into attitudes to women in sport and, because it was unusual for a male tennis player to work with a female coach, I am often asked about that.
Working with Amelie was, for me, because she was the right person for the job, and not a question of her sex at all. However, it became clear to me that she wasn’t always treated the same as men in similar jobs, and so I felt I had to speak out about that.
Since then, I have been asked about women’s equality and I would find it hard to look any of the top female tennis players in the eye if I did not speak my mind.
People often underestimate the amount of work that it takes to become a top tennis player. And that work ethic is the same whether you are a man or a woman.
There are hours spent in the gym, on court, in physio, travelling, analysing matches and opponents, talking with your team, managing your body, and of course, making plenty of sacrifices.
Anyone who has spent any time with any of the top women will know that they make those same sacrifices and are as determined and committed to winning as any of the top men on the tour.
When I was asked what I thought about girls and boys playing sport together until adolescence, the answer was fairly straightforward for me: I think it’s a great idea.
In tennis we benefit, of course, from having the game of mixed doubles, so men and women, boys and girls, are used to this idea.
Some of the most fun I’ve had on court has been when playing mixed doubles – with Heather Watson and Laura Robson at both the Hopman Cup in Australia and at the Olympics. Although they probably wouldn’t say the same about playing with me!
As a youngster growing up in Dunblane, my mum and dad would regularly encourage me to practise against girls at Dunblane Tennis Club.
I also used to practise with Svetlana Kuznetsova sometimes when I trained in Barcelona.
Playing mixed sport has huge benefits like making friendships, building confidence and saving money for schools and clubs.
So much at an early age is about ball skills, hand-eye co-ordination and generating a competitive spirit anyway, and not about strength and speed, that it would make sense to me for these skills to be taught to boys and girls alike, at the same time?
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