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Judy Murray

Judy Murray
OBE
Colour photograph of Judy Murray, taken in 2012
Murray in 2012
Born
Judith Mary Erskine

(1959-09-08) 8 September 1959 (age 65)
Bridge of Allan, Stirlingshire, Scotland
NationalityBritish
Alma materUniversity of Edinburgh
OccupationTennis coach
Spouse
William Murray
​
​
(m. 1980; div. 2005)​
Children
FatherRoy Erskine

Judith Mary Murray (née Erskine; born 8 September 1959) is a Scottish tennis coach and charity campaigner. Born in Bridge of Allan, Stirlingshire, she studied at the University of Edinburgh before embarking on a coaching career. As mother and early coach to prominent tennis professionals Sir Andy Murray and Jamie Murray, she has played a significant role in British tennis. Murray has held leadership roles including captain of Great Britain's Fed Cup team, and has been honored as an Officer of the Order of the British Empire for her services to tennis, women in sport, and charity. She also founded the Judy Murray Foundation to improve access to tennis opportunities across Scotland.

Life and career

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Murray was born on 8 September 1959 in Bridge of Allan, Stirlingshire, the daughter of Alison Shirley (née Edney) and Roy Erskine, an optician and former footballer who had played for Stirling Albion in the 1950s.[1] She says that growing up, there were no indoor tennis courts in Scotland, so she played tennis in the summer and badminton in the winter. She won 64 titles in Scotland during her junior and senior career, and decided to make an attempt at the professional tour in around 1976.[2] Murray gave up the idea of competing professionally as she was homesick and was robbed in Barcelona.[3][4][5] However, she had played against players such as Debbie Jevans and Mariana Simionescu.[2][6]

Murray said that her playing style did not have any big shots, but she was quick around the court and read the game well.[5] She decided to study French and German at the University of Edinburgh, before dropping German in favour of business studies. In 1981, she graduated from the University of Edinburgh and represented Great Britain at the World Student Games.[4][5] She began coaching and was the initial coach for both her sons before handing over the reins as their professional careers bloomed.[2] In the early 1980s, Murray lived in the West End of Glasgow and was a member of Broomhill Lawn Tennis and Squash club, winning the Club Championships three times and playing for its teams (under her maiden name).[7]

Aside from her own sons, she has coached many players at regional and national level under the auspices of the British tennis governing body, the Lawn Tennis Association (LTA).[8] In December 2011 she was elected to lead the British Fed Cup team as their captain.[9] She said she took the job in part to raise the profile of female coaches and alleviate some of the sexism that she said remains in the sport.[10] She resigned as Great Britain's Fed Cup Captain in March 2016.[11]

Murray was appointed Officer of the Order of the British Empire (OBE) in the 2017 Birthday Honours for services to tennis, women in sport, and charity.[12]

She is a trustee of the Judy Murray Foundation, a registered charity under Scots Law, with the object of improving access to tennis opportunities across Scotland.[13]

In 2018, Murray appeared as a contestant on The Chase Celebrity Christmas Special.[citation needed]

In 2020, Murray appeared as a contestant on Celebrity Masterchef.[14] Murray was given the 2021 Georgina Clark Mother Award from the Women's Tennis Association.[15]

Honorary doctorates

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Murray was awarded an honorary doctorate by the University of Edinburgh on 8 October 2013.[16] On 22 November 2013 Murray received an honorary doctorate from the University of Stirling.[17] She received three honorary degrees in 2016 – one from the University of Aberdeen,[18] another from the University of Glasgow,[19] and a third from Abertay University for her "outstanding contribution to British sport."[20]

Park of Keir

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Murray had been planning to build indoor and outdoor tennis courts; a six-hole golf course; a 4/5-star hotel; a country park; indoor leisure activities; a tennis museum and 19 resort homes on 110 hectares (270 acres) of green belt land at Park of Keir south of Dunblane and the north-west of Bridge of Allan.[21] The proposed development was rejected by Stirling Council in December 2015.[22] However, following appeal from the developers it was granted planning permission in principle by the Scottish government in December 2021.[23] Despite this, the project was officially cancelled in August 2024, due to rising costs and protracted planning disputes.[23]

Strictly Come Dancing

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On 7 September 2014 Murray was introduced as a competitor in the 12th series of BBC One's Strictly Come Dancing, paired with professional dancer Anton du Beke.[24] In week eight at Blackpool, however, after dancing a Viennese Waltz to "Let's Go Fly a Kite" from Mary Poppins, the pair had one of the lowest two scores. They were eliminated by a unanimous vote from the judges. Writing in The Daily Telegraph, Michael Hogan tagged his review of the show "Ballroom justice at last as the popular but wooden Mrs Murray leaves Strictly", describing the last dance: "It was Murray’s best yet – not saying much, maybe – scoring her first (and only) sevens. She was even more delighted by her four from Craig Revel Horwood."[25]

Week # Dance/song Judges' score Total Result
Revel Horwood Bussell Goodman Tonioli
1 Waltz / Mull of Kintyre 3 4 6 5 18 No elimination
2 Cha-Cha-Cha / She's a Lady 2 5 5 5 17 Safe
3 Quickstep / Don't Rain on My Parade 3 5, 5[a] 5 5 23 Safe
4 Tango / "Jealousy" 4 6 6 6 22 Safe
5 Charleston / "Varsity Drag" 3 5 5 5 18 Safe
6 American Smooth / "Cruella de Vil" 3 6 6 5 20 Safe
7 Paso Doble / "I Fought the Law" 3 5 5 5 18 Safe
8 Viennese Waltz / "Let's Go Fly a Kite" 4 6 7 7 24 Eliminated
  1. ^ Score from guest judge Donny Osmond

Personal life

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In 1980 when she was 21 she married William Murray, a manager with the Scottish newsagent chain RS McColl. They had two children, Jamie, born 1986, and Andy, born 1987. The couple divorced in 2005.[citation needed]

In February 2021 Murray said that she had undergone a £4,500 non-surgical face lift after her sons teased her for her "turkey neck".[26][27]

Murray has a tattoo of a large spider on her back. Explaining her motivation she said, "It's a throwback to the story of Robert the Bruce and the spider in the cave – it's about never giving up, resilience, persistence, fighting against the odds."[28]

Publications

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  • Knowing the Score: My Family and Our Tennis Story. London: Chatto & Windus, 2017. Co-written with Alexandra Heminsley. ISBN 978-1784741792.[29]

References

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  1. ^ Will Peakin, "Dunblane tastes regret along with its new favourite son", The Guardian, 26 June 2006.
  2. ^ a b c Donald McRae, Judy Murray: I would love to have given it a go as a player, The Guardian, 16 June 2014
  3. ^ "How the two women in Andy Murray's life get on". 10 April 2012.
  4. ^ a b "All about Judy". Herald Scotland. 21 June 2008.
  5. ^ a b c Culpepper, Chuck (22 June 2009). "Andy Murray's edge: the mother of all tennis coaches". LA Times.
  6. ^ Kessel, Anna (7 March 2014). "Debbie Jevans tops Guardian list of most influential women in UK sport". The Guardian.
  7. ^ "Tennis Champions". Archived from the original on 1 March 2021.
  8. ^ Viner, Brian (30 June 2012). "Judy Murray: More than a tennis mum". The Independent. London. Retrieved 29 August 2012.
  9. ^ "Judy Murray named Great Britain Fed Cup captain by the LTA". BBC Sport. 8 December 2011. Retrieved 29 August 2012.
  10. ^ Judy Murray explains decision to become Fed Cup captain, BBC News. 19 December 2011
  11. ^ Press Association (15 March 2016). "Judy Murray resigns as captain of Great Britain's Fed Cup team". The Guardian.
  12. ^ "No. 61962". The London Gazette (Supplement). 17 June 2017. p. B13.
  13. ^ "The Judy Murray Foundation, Registered Charity no. SC047804". Office of the Scottish Charity Regulator.
  14. ^ Darvill, Josh (28 June 2020). "Celebrity MasterChef 2020 line up of celebrity contestants revealed". TellyMix. Retrieved 13 July 2020.
  15. ^ "Judy Murray Receives Georgina Clark WTA Mother Award". Women's Tennis Association. 7 July 2021. Retrieved 5 January 2022.
  16. ^ University of Edinburgh, Notice of Award Ceremony
  17. ^ "Murray brothers praise their mum at University of Stirling Winter Graduation". www.stir.ac.uk. 22 November 2013.
  18. ^ "Judy Murray and Nicky Campbell among those to be awarded honorary degrees by University of Aberdeen". www.abdn.ac.uk. 18 November 2016.
  19. ^ "University of Glasgow Story: Judy Murray". www.universitystory.gla.ac.uk. Archived from the original on 17 May 2018. Retrieved 10 May 2017.
  20. ^ "Judy Murray to receive honorary degree". 19 November 2016.
  21. ^ "The Park of Keir partners". Park of Keir. Archived from the original on 23 February 2022. Retrieved 1 October 2021.
  22. ^ Sawer, Patrick (8 December 2015). "Judy Murray's plans for multi-million pound tennis complex rejected after opposition from locals". The Telegraph.
  23. ^ a b Bonar, Megan (27 August 2024). "Sir Andy Murray 'legacy' tennis centre plan scrapped". BBC News. Retrieved 2 September 2024.
  24. ^ "BBC One - Strictly Come Dancing, Series 12, The Launch Show". BBC.
  25. ^ Michael Hogan (16 November 2014). "Judy Murray voted off Strictly, review". The Telegraph. Retrieved 17 November 2014.
  26. ^ Haria, Sonia (15 February 2021). "The £4,500 face lift Judy Murray had to fix her 'turkey neck'". The Telegraph.
  27. ^ Hart-Davis, Alice (16 February 2021). "Judy Murray and the rise of the non-surgical facelift". The Times.
  28. ^ "BBC Scotland - You'll be amazed when you finally see the tattoo Judy Murray has been hiding from the world". BBC.
  29. ^ "Judy Murray's autobiography in running for sports book of the year". www.scotsman.com. 22 September 2017. Retrieved 2 January 2021.
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