Andy Murray's mother Judy touched by 10-year-old's request to help his mother coach him like she coached the 3-time Grand Slam champion
The timeline of Andy Murray's fabled career reflects the perpetual presence of his mother Judy, who nurtured her son into a tennis prodigy before committing to the tour as his voice of wisdom.
After a brief stint as a professional player in the mid-1970s, Judy Murray decided to embrace full-time coaching duties for her young sons, Andy and Jamie, at home in Scotland. She later mentored burgeoning talents for the UK's Lawn Tennis Association and was appointed non-playing captain of the British Billie Jean King Cup (then Fed Cup) team in 2011.
The 63-year-old was recently in Melbourne as part of Andy Murray's entourage for the 2023 Australian Open. The Scot registered back-to-back five-set wins over Matteo Berrettini and Thanasi Kokkinakis before falling to Roberto Bautista Agut in the third round.
During her time at the tournament, Judy was approached by a mother and her spirited 10-year-old son, who put forth perhaps the most heartfelt request she had received.
Murray highlighted the conversation on Twitter, expressing her admiration at the boy's plea to teach his mother ways of mentoring him to be a successful player like Andy Murray.
"Today at @ausopen, a little boy (maybe about 10) came up to me. He said “excuse me Mrs Murray. This is my mum and she’s my coach. Could you please tell her how to help me to play like Andy?," wrote Judy Murray on Twitter.
Today at @ausopen a little boy (maybe about 10) came up to me. He said “excuse me Mrs Murray. This is my mum and she’s my coach. Could you please tell her how to help me to play like Andy?” https://t.co/KjL34zISbL
Judy has been a consistent figure in her son Andy's player box and mentored him to three Grand Slam titles and an Olympic gold medal.
She continues to support the growth of tennis in Scotland and regularly orchestrates training camps in the country under the aegis of her namesake charity foundation.
"I gave everything I had to this event"- Andy Murray after Australian Open 2023 exit
Andy Murray entered the 2023 Australian Open on a wildcard and took on No. 13 seed Matteo Berrettini in the first round. Despite losing the first two sets, Murray showcased his unparalleled mental fortitude to stage a comeback win in five sets.
He repeated his heroics in the next round against home hopeful Thanasi Kokkinakis, before losing to long-time nemesis Roberto Bautista Agut in four sets. Despite functioning on an artificial hip, his indomitable resolve went on to become the subject of plenty of adulation from within and beyond the tennis community.
In his post-match press conference, the 35-year-old admitted that he left it all on the tennis courts at Melbourne Park over the past week. He was, however, disappointed at having to leave earlier than he had expected, given his vigorous efforts in the off-season.
"I feel like I gave everything that I had to this event," the former World No. 1 said. "So I'm proud of that. You can't always control the outcome. You can't control how well you're going to play or the result. You can control the effort that you put into it, and I gave everything that I had the last three matches."
"But, yeah, I'm also disappointed because I put loads of work into the beginning of this year and was playing well enough to have a really good run, have a deep run," he added.