Murray Breaks with Gilbert
If you watched many of Andy Murray’s matches and saw him scream at his coach, Brad Gilbert, in the stands, you had to wonder whether the Murray and Gilbert player/coach relationship might not have such long legs… Therefore, it’s not a huge surprise that Murray announced this week that he was parting company with Brad Gilbert after 16 months of working together which included almost 4 months this past spring when
Murray was injured. Murray has said that he will hire a “team of experts” to fulfill roles related to the continued development of his tennis and fitness. It’s still unclear what “team” will mean with respect to Andy Murray’s future, but he has said that he prefers to have several people around him rather than a one-on-one relationship. However, there is definitely a growing trend towards traveling with at least a small “entourage,” e.g. tennis coach, fitness trainer and possibly physical therapist or masseuse, as well as girlfriend or boyfriend. One exception to this pattern is of course Roger Federer. As the stakes have gotten higher and the prize money has increased, tennis pros are willing and able to spend the money to have a “training and support team” traveling with them. At the same time, it is tough to be on the road for the whole year and many players prefer to have a group of friends or family with them, as well as their “training team.” As they say, it’s all about enjoying the journey…
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