Andy Murray on International Women's Day: "There is no reason why a woman cannot be as good as a man"
On the occasion of today's International Women's Day, Andy Murray made a guest contribution in several German-language media about his collaboration with Amelie Mauresmo and what he wanted in terms of equality.
by Michael Rothschädl
last edit: Mar 08, 2020, 08:05 pm
It was a curiosity, a rarity, when Andy Murray introduced his new trainer in 2014. More specifically, his new trainer. From now on it was a woman under whose aegis the Scotsman was on the ATP tour. A constellation that is rarely seen. Too rarely, Andy Murray now finds in a guest post on the occasion of International Women's Day in some German-language media: "The best coaches should be the best of the best, and It cannot be the case that women only represent eleven percent of the best coaches at the Olympic Games - clearly more needs to be done here. When it comes to mindset, skill and intelligence, there is no reason why a woman cannot be as good as a man, "Murray writes in this post.
While working with Mauresmo, the former world number one played in some Grand Slam finals, but was unable to win any at that time. "A lot of people blamed her for that, Amélie - with all my other male coaches, such blame never existed," Murray continues. Murray said the time he worked with Mauresmo was presented as an unsuccessful one. However, the Scotsman was able to advance to second place in the ATP world rankings with her. In 2015 alone, with Mauresmo as a trainer, he won four titles on the tour, including the two at the ATP Masters 1000 events in Madrid and Montreal.
Celebrate prize money equality as an achievement
According to Murray, tennis is a role model sport when it comes to equating the prize money for women and men. This can also be seen at the upcoming event in Indian Wells, where both women and men will start. The total prize money is around 9.7 million US dollars (men) compared to 8.7 million US dollars (women) for men, but the difference is at most marginal. Murray complains that this achievement within sport is more likely to be questioned than celebrated and therefore appeals: "So don't waste your time discussing it - let's celebrate and use it to our advantage to grow our sport worldwide," writes the 32nd -Year old.
Murray, in particular, finds the format of the mixed double very attractive and at the same time wishes to see it more often: "Other sports should take these formats as a model and think about what they can do in this direction - and what fans might like to see want, "said Murray. He himself started in Wimbledon last year with Serena Williams in the mixed doubles. An experience that brought him many positive reactions from his environment: "When I win or lose at Wimbledon, I usually hear:" Well done "or" That was bad luck ". But after playing with Serena, many simply accepted me: "It was just great to see you and Serena playing together. It was brilliant." So people enjoy seeing it - so we should encourage it, "Murray concludes.