A few minutes before the French Open final started in Paris on Sunday, the press huddled in the interview room under Court Philippe Chatrier to speak to Frenchwoman Amelie Mauresmo, who had just been confirmed as Andy Murray’s new coach.
Murray had hinted that Ivan Lendl’s successor might be a woman last week and the Scot clearly stated that for him, the gender of his next coach made no difference to him.
He said he had been coached by his mother Judy in his early tennis years and was comfortable either way.
Mauresmo said that while she is aware her coaching a top male player is an interesting story to many, her main focus is helping Murray achieve more Grand Slams rather than make a statement as a trailblazing female coach.
Both Murray and Mauresmo are focusing on his career, but whether they mean to or not, their partnership is very significant especially during this period where sexism continues to make appearances in the tennis world.
A quick search on Twitter reveals many positive comments about Murray’s choice of coach, but many include crass remarks about him hiring a female for the job.
Earlier this week, there was a piece written about sexism in tennis officiating, revealing some unfortunate facts about how female umpires are perceived and throughout the entire two weeks in Paris, Simona Halep’s five-year-old breast reduction surgery story took precedence over the incredible tennis she played to reach the final.
Not to mention the constant talk about equal prize money and how women shouldn’t be getting the same paychecks as men at tournaments (even several male players have come out and said it).
So for Murray to lean on the expertise of Mauresmo, who is a former world No1 and two-time major champion, in a world where there are almost no women coaching male players who are not their relatives – the impact will be considerable.
Like many other athletes, tennis players are often stumped after ending their careers and very few plan for the future or have enough opportunities post-retirement.
Tennis is all they know, all they breathed and all they lived, so they either become coaches or commentators.
The former has not really been open to many women with a majority of the top ATP and WTA players coached by men.
Murray hiring Mauresmo can definitely open up roles for women that were never really available to them before, and the fact that Murray is a top player and major champion will only help present the issue to a wider audience.
With the kind of attention this story is getting, there comes lots of responsibility. Because if for any reason Murray and Mauresmo doesn’t work out (which happens in any coaching relationship), negative reactions can arise, including generalisations that a female coaching a top male player could never work.
Here’s hoping things do work out, for the sake of Murray’s career, Mauresmo’s job, and for the fight to break gender barriers in tennis.
