'They didn't respect me because I'm a woman' - Amelie Mauresmo opens up on coaching Andy Murray

ByEnis Koylu

Published 25/01/2021 at 17:07 GMT

In an exclusive interview with Eurosport, Amelie Mauresmo has opened up on the difficulties she faced when asked to coach Andy Murray, becoming one of the first women to take up the role on the men's tour. Despite thinking the initial call from the Brit was a prank and going through some trials and tribulations, she ended up enjoying the experience.

Amelie Mauresmo has opened up on her experiences coaching Andy Murray.

Mauresmo, who won the Australian Open and Wimbledon during her playing career, coached the former world number one between 2014 and 2016, having previously worked with the likes of Victoria Azarenka.

Under her tutelage, Murray reached the final of the Australian Open and made significant strides on clay, recording a maiden win over Rafael Nadal on the surface on his way to the Madrid Masters title.

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Mauresmo says she felt responsible for all women who wanted to coach ATP players, knowing there would be a great deal of scrutiny on her.

She exclusively told Eurosport: "When Andy Murray first came to pick me up, I thought it was bulls***, it was a hoax.

"After Ivan Lendl, who was much better than me, I didn't see what I could bring him as a coach. It had never been done in men's tennis, or at least it hadn't been done very much.

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"I had the impression that I had a lot of responsibility and that I didn't have the right to make mistakes. If I screwed up, all women would screw up with me.

"The reception of the crowd was very happy. I got to Queens - there were no gifts. I clearly wasn't in my place.

"The welcome from the players, the other coaches and other members of Andy's staff was very hard but with him everything went very well.

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"I think I didn't fit in. They didn't respect me because I'm a woman and I had never really coached before…I learned how to be a coach on the job.

"I worked a lot to get up to speed and be on the same level. I think it went very well, it was a nice experience."

Mauresmo went on to call for women's Grand Slams to feature five-set matches, a move which would entrench more gender parity and, in her opinion, make for a better spectacle.

"I would have loved to have played a five-set Grand Slam final. I am absolutely in favour of women playing the best of five sets, in a Grand Slam final to begin with.

"I think they would make finals better in general, they're one-sided too often. It would take women's tennis to another physical and sporting level."

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