Andy Murray's "Coach" Mom
Andy Murray completed the rare double feat of beating Rafael Nadal and Roger Federer, not to mention the red-hot Argentine, David Nalbandian as well, en route to the Canadian Open title Sunday in Toronto. It was an impressive display of aggressive tennis by the currently "coachless" Scotsman. It was telling in a way that Murray's longest embrace
after the victory with anyone on his "team" was with his mom. Judy Murray was Andy’s first coach and still serves as a coach for juniors with the LTA. Murray's parents divorced many years ago and there's no question that Andy is close to his mother and enjoys having her at tournaments.
It's very common to see solo moms travelling on the WTA Tour with many mothers acting as part-time or full-time coaches. However, on the ATP Tour, it's VERY rare to find a mom sitting in a player's box, let alone acting as an official/unofficial coach. Marat Safin's mother is a highly-regarded coach in Russia, but she never seemed to play that role in Marat's pro career. The last famous "mother-coach" on the ATP Tour was probably Jimmy Connors' mother, Gloria Connors, decades ago. There’s no question that Murray’s success in Canada is a function of all the hard work he’s done the past few months, as well as whatever “tips” he received last week. However, it certainly doesn’t hurt to have a mom with a strong tennis mind when one is officially “coachless.”
It's very common to see solo moms travelling on the WTA Tour with many mothers acting as part-time or full-time coaches. However, on the ATP Tour, it's VERY rare to find a mom sitting in a player's box, let alone acting as an official/unofficial coach. Marat Safin's mother is a highly-regarded coach in Russia, but she never seemed to play that role in Marat's pro career. The last famous "mother-coach" on the ATP Tour was probably Jimmy Connors' mother, Gloria Connors, decades ago. There’s no question that Murray’s success in Canada is a function of all the hard work he’s done the past few months, as well as whatever “tips” he received last week. However, it certainly doesn’t hurt to have a mom with a strong tennis mind when one is officially “coachless.”
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