

In an in-depth interview with Red Bulletin, Andy Murray discussed his relationship with Amelie Mauresmo, and his views on women in coaching. After parting ways with Ivan Lendl last season, the two-time major champion made waves and received criticism when he announced his pairing with the Frenchwoman, but despite all that he believes he’s hit a sweet spot with Mauresmo like he’s never found with any other coach.



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“I felt I was able to be open the very first time we chatted,” he said in the interview. “I was returning from back surgery, which was difficult. When I stopped working with Ivan, I hadn’t spent much time with him. After the surgery I really needed help and guidance.”



He added: “At that point, I was low on confidence. I looked for someone very different to Ivan. Everyone looks at the success I had with Ivan, but that doesn’t mean my relationship with him was perfect. There were elements missing. I needed someone who would really listen to what I was saying and incorporate that. That’s something Amelie’s better at than any coach I’ve ever had.”



As the article states, very few “elite” athletes are coached by women, but Murray, who was coached my his mother Judy from a young age, believes this will change in time.



Later in the interview, Murray was asked straight-up if he was a feminist. The Scot didn’t exactly shout yes from the rooftops, but he didn’t say no either, expressing himself in his typically eloquent manner:





Do you regard yourself as a feminist?



[Long pause]. “Good question. I don’t know. I’m pro everyone being equal and if that’s being a feminist then you could say so, yes. It really opened my eyes when I started working with Amelie. Inequality is something I started to see and become passionate about. It’s opened my mind.”

Murray went on to say that there were many doubters, both inside his team and out during a rough finish to 2014. But during that difficult time he was clear about the direction he needed to move, which is why he parted ways with Jez Green and Dani Vallverdu.



“Everyone, including the people closest to me, was doubting my decision [to appoint Mauresmo], and that was difficult,” he said. “I told everyone that me losing to Roger [Federer] in London was nothing to do with Amelie. During that year I’d spent a total of two and a half weeks training with her. It clearly wasn’t her fault. Rather than doubt her, I started to wonder why no one was taking responsibility for their role in it. So I decided to move on.”