Ahead of the Wimbledon Championships, Judy Murray tells Emma Higginbotham about her memories of the world’s most famous tennis tournament.
Wimbledon begins on Monday, and fans can expect to see many familiar sights. The lush lawns. The players in their bright whites. The curious pineapple-topped trophy. And, of course, Judy Murray’s fierce face as she scrutinises her sons, Jamie and Sir Andy, from the Players’ Box.
‘I don’t relax for a moment when I’m watching my boys, and for years I was smashed up by the media as ‘the pushy competitive mother who never smiles’, says Murray.
‘I always sit on an end, because I don’t want to speak to anybody. And if you eat crisps, or chew gum, or sniff, or pass a tut at my kids, you will get my death stare!’
But don’t be fooled. Murray is far more fun than her steely glare suggests, and she knows her tennis onions too. A talented player in her own right, she went on to become a top-flight coach, heading up the Scottish national team for 10 years, and has masterminded her sons’ hugely successful careers.
The 58-year-old delves into her Wimbledon memories and more – including her plucky foray into Strictly Come Dancing (‘I was really rubbish!’) – in her autobiography, Knowing the Score. Here, she tells Weekend about some of her favourite moments from the world’s most famous tennis tournament.
TV times
Murray’s first encounter with Wimbledon was watching it on television with her two younger brothers, ‘because we had to! My mum was glued to it all day long, my dad when he came in from work, and you couldn’t change the channel for a fortnight.
‘My mum wouldn’t leave her chair, and she’d always be commentating; many years later I would realise that she didn’t know what she was talking about. And she didn’t really feed us – it was basically “Go to the fridge and get something, because I am not leaving this match!”’
Playing the game
Her parents were keen players, but Murray couldn’t join in until she was older: ‘In those days you had to be about 10 before you could wield the tennis racket, because they were so big and heavy. But I got quite good at it quite quickly.’ And how. By the age of 11 she was playing in competitions, winning 64 titles before choosing university over a professional playing career.
Murray even played in the qualifying rounds for the Wimbledon doubles: ‘I was a student at the time and I wasn’t particularly well prepared for it; we lost our first match. But you’re at a club remote from Wimbledon, so it didn’t really feel like Wimbledon...’
Being there
Murray was still a student when she and three friends went to the Championships for the first time, queueing for hours and finally getting a seat at the very back of Centre Court. ‘It’s amazing when you go to anything that you’ve just seen on the telly; it’s one of the world’s biggest sporting events, and you’re actually there!’ she recalls. ‘It’s just so different watching it live and soaking up the atmosphere.’
She first took her sons as part of a club trip when Jamie was 8 and Andy was 7: ‘We stayed at the youth hostel in Surbiton, and got the bus in to Wimbledon, so they got a taste of it up close from a young age.’ But she never pictured them playing there, ‘because tennis is such a minority sport in Scotland. They were probably thinking about it, but I wasn’t.’
Like mother, like sons
In 2002, however, Murray found herself at Wimbledon watching Andy, then 15, in the junior doubles; the following year both boys played in the junior singles, ‘and then in 2005 Andy got a wildcard into the men’s singles as a just-turned-18-year-old. He was very young and very new.’
Against the odds, he won his first two matches and played his third on Centre Court, ‘and that was amazing,’ says Murray. ‘You’re thinking “That’s my child down there!”
‘He’d gone from playing in junior events where one man and his dog are watching, to suddenly being in a 15,000-seater stadium with millions watching around the world. It was a pipe dream that I never imagined happening, and he was actually doing it.’ He lost in five sets to the world number 4.
Champion number one
In 2007, Jamie qualified for the men’s doubles – but ended up holding a different trophy. ‘Jamie had just been dropped off in the players’ car lot, and Jelena Jankovic was dropped off in the car behind him. They started chatting on the way in, and he said “Are you playing mixed doubles?” And she said “No, are you?” And he said “Well no, unless you fancy playing in it.” And she said “Yeah, OK then!” So they went off together and signed up, and 10 days later they were Wimbledon champions.
‘They just laughed and joked their way through it, and it was so unexpected. It was amazing, really, because he was only 21 and it was early days for all of us.’
Champion number two
After losing to Roger Federer in the previous year’s final, Andy winning the men’s singles title in 2013 was, says Murray, ‘all about relief. Enormous relief.
‘For years I had listened to him having to answer “When are you going to win Wimbledon?”, and you got that feeling that if you don’t win Wimbledon, you haven’t really achieved anything.’
Around 17 million people watched him beat Novak Djokovic in the final, ‘and the funny thing is I don’t remember anything about that match until the last game. I could hear my heart beating, and I was talking to myself, going “Just one more serve Andy! Smash it! Bash it! Grrr!” I was exhausted afterwards, and quite tearful – but not for too long. And three years later he won it again.’
This year...?
It’s still unclear whether Andy, who had hip surgery in January, will play, ‘but Jamie will be there,’ says Murray. Other than at her sons’ matches, though, don’t expect to see her court-side. ‘I’ve done all that! I’d rather go up into the village and have a glass of wine with my pals.’
Murray herself hasn’t played tennis for nine years – these days she prefers zumba – but is delighted that Wimbledon puts the game so firmly in the spotlight.
‘The great thing about tennis is you can start at a young age with mini equipment, you can play later in life too, and it’s not male or female so you can play as a family,’ she says. ‘It’s outdoors, it’s good exercise, it’s good fun, and very social as well. Everyone should do it.’
Knowing the Score: My Family and Our Tennis Story by Judy Murray (Vintage, £8.99)
Judy Murray’s beginner’s guide to watching Wimbledon:
If you’re watching on the TV, get a stool to put your feet up, a glass of fizz and a bowl of strawberries and cream, and create your own little Wimbledon experience. And point your children to the fridge!
If you’re actually there, buy a ground pass because there are so many wonderful matches on the outside courts. Study the order of play, decide who you want to watch and go early, because a lot of the outside courts don’t have much seating.
Even if you’ve got a ticket, be prepared to experience the queue. It’s very well organised and it can be great fun.
Take your own food and drinks, because it’s quite expensive to eat there.
Take sun cream and a hat: if you’re watching a men’s match and it’s five sets and it goes on for four hours, it’s very easy to get burnt because you’re a captive in the seat.
Look out for the resale tickets: often people leave at 3 o’clock to pick up kids from school, so you can buy a seat at one of the show courts for £10. That’s a bargain, and all the money goes to charity.
An edited version of this feature appeared in Waitrose Weekend in June 2018. (c) Waitrose