Judy Murray
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Judith Mary Murray OBE (née Erskine; born 8 September 1959) is a Scottish tennis coach. She is the mother of professional tennis players Jamie and Sir Andy Murray.


Life and career

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. She says that growing up, there were no indoor tennis courts in Scotland, so she played tennis in the summer and
badminton Badminton is a racquet sport played using racket (sports equipment), racquets to hit a shuttlecock across a net (device), net. Although it may be played with larger teams, the most common forms of the game are "singles" (with one player per s ...
in the winter. She won 64 titles in Scotland during her junior and senior career, and decided to have a go at the professional tour in around 1976. Murray gave up the idea of competing professionally as she was homesick and was robbed in Barcelona. However, she had played against players such as Debbie Jevans and Mariana Simionescu. Murray claims that her playing style did not have any big shots, but she was quick around the court and read the game well. She decided to go to the
University of Edinburgh The University of Edinburgh (, ; abbreviated as ''Edin.'' in Post-nominal letters, post-nominals) is a Public university, public research university based in Edinburgh, Scotland. Founded by the City of Edinburgh Council, town council under th ...
to study French and German, before dropping German in favour of business studies. In 1981, she graduated from the
University of Edinburgh The University of Edinburgh (, ; abbreviated as ''Edin.'' in Post-nominal letters, post-nominals) is a Public university, public research university based in Edinburgh, Scotland. Founded by the City of Edinburgh Council, town council under th ...
and represented Great Britain at the World Student Games. She began coaching and was the initial coach for both her sons before handing over the reins as their professional careers bloomed.Donald McRae
Judy Murray: I would love to have given it a go as a player
The Guardian, 16 June 2014
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). She remains a visitor to the club. 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 The Lawn Tennis Association (LTA) is the national governing body of tennis in Great Britain, the Channel Islands, and the Isle of Man founded in 1888. The LTA promotes all levels of lawn tennis. The organization believes tennis can provide ...
(LTA). In December 2011 she was elected to lead the British Fed Cup team as their captain. She says she took the job in part to raise the profile of female coaches and alleviate some of the
sexism Sexism is prejudice or discrimination based on one's sex or gender. Sexism can affect anyone, but primarily affects women and girls. It has been linked to gender roles and stereotypes, and may include the belief that one sex or gender is int ...
that she says remains in the sport. She resigned as
Great Britain Great Britain is an island in the North Atlantic Ocean off the north-west coast of continental Europe, consisting of the countries England, Scotland, and Wales. With an area of , it is the largest of the British Isles, the List of European ...
's Fed Cup Captain in March 2016. Murray was appointed
Officer of the Order of the British Empire The Most Excellent Order of the British Empire is a British order of chivalry, rewarding valuable service in a wide range of useful activities. It comprises five classes of awards across both civil and military divisions, the most senior two o ...
(OBE) in the 2017 Birthday Honours for services to tennis, women in sport, and charity. 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. In 2018, Murray appeared as a contestant on '' The Chase Celebrity Christmas Special''. In 2020, Murray appeared as a contestant on '' Celebrity Masterchef''. Murray was given the 2021 Georgina Clark Mother Award from the Women's Tennis Association.


Honorary Doctorates

Murray was awarded an Honorary Doctorate by the
University of Edinburgh The University of Edinburgh (, ; abbreviated as ''Edin.'' in Post-nominal letters, post-nominals) is a Public university, public research university based in Edinburgh, Scotland. Founded by the City of Edinburgh Council, town council under th ...
on 8 October 2013. On 22 November 2013 Murray received an honorary doctorate from the University of Stirling. She received three honorary degrees in 2016 – one from the
University of Aberdeen The University of Aberdeen (abbreviated ''Aberd.'' in List of post-nominal letters (United Kingdom), post-nominals; ) is a public university, public research university in Aberdeen, Scotland. It was founded in 1495 when William Elphinstone, Bis ...
, another from the University of Glasgow, and a third from Abertay University for her "outstanding contribution to British sport."


Park of Keir

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 of green belt land at Park of Keir south of Dunblane and the north-west of Bridge of Allan. The proposed development was rejected by Stirling Council in December 2015. However, following appeal from the developers it was granted planning permission in principle by the
Scottish government The Scottish Government (, ) is the executive arm of the devolved government of Scotland. It was formed in 1999 as the Scottish Executive following the 1997 referendum on Scottish devolution, and is headquartered at St Andrew's House in ...
in December 2021. Despite this, the project was officially cancelled in August 2024, due to rising costs and protracted planning disputes.


''Strictly Come Dancing''

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. In week eight at
Blackpool Blackpool is a seaside town in Lancashire, England. It is located on the Irish Sea coast of the Fylde peninsula, approximately north of Liverpool and west of Preston, Lancashire, Preston. It is the main settlement in the Borough of 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 ''The Daily Telegraph'', known online and elsewhere as ''The Telegraph'', is a British daily broadsheet conservative newspaper published in London by Telegraph Media Group and distributed in the United Kingdom and internationally. It was found ...
'', 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." 3 Score from guest judge Donny Osmond.


Personal life

In 1980 when she was 21 she married William Murray, a manager with the Scottish newsagent chain RS McColl. The two had two children, Jamie, born 1986, and Andy, born 1987. The couple divorced in 2005. In February 2021 Murray revealed that she had undergone a £4,500 non-surgical face lift after her sons teased her for her "turkey neck".


Publications

*''Knowing the Score: My Family and Our Tennis Story''. London: Chatto & Windus, 2017. Co-written with Alexandra Heminsley. .


References


External links


The Judy Murray Foundation
{{DEFAULTSORT:Murray, Judy 1959 births Living people Scottish female tennis players British female tennis players Sportspeople from Dunblane Scottish sports coaches Scottish tennis coaches Alumni of the University of Edinburgh Officers of the Order of the British Empire People educated at Morrison's Academy People associated with the University of Aberdeen People associated with the University of Abertay Dundee 20th-century Scottish sportswomen