Tennis

Andy Murray urged to return to tennis in new role after switching sports

SportPicksWin
Source
express.co.uk
Just when he was starting to make waves in his new sport, Andy Murray has been urged to make a comeback to tennis. Murray, 37, retired after the Paris Olympics this summer, bringing the curtain down on an iconic career that saw him win three Grand Slam titles. And no sooner had he hung up his racket, Murray stated his intention to now focus on family life and improving his golf game. The increased time to hone his swing is already paying dividends, with Murray making his PGA Tour debut in September. The Scot played alongside celebrities at the BMW PGA Championship's Pro-Am event at Wentworth, and duly earned himself an invitation to the BTJA Mike Dickson Golf Day event in Hertfordshire. And Murray, who has reportedly been taking advice from Ryder Cup star Bob MacIntyre, was later announced the tournament winner. But now Rennae Stubbs, who coached Serena Williams during her own career swan song, has said the former world No.1 needs to return to the practice courts, although not as a player. “Andy Murray, he would be great coaching anyone," Stubbs said, in her The Rennae Stubbs Tennis Podcast. “This guy knows tennis like the back of his hand, he knows emotion. He would be great coaching anyone, female or male, because he just has a great tennis mind. Also, he was a very emotional player and I think that he’d be very empathetic to a player’s tough times on the tour." Stubbs, who herself won five Grand Slam doubles titles, is well placed to judge. She’s previously worked with the likes of Karolína Plisková, Sam Stosur, and Genie Bouchard, before teaming up with Williams for her final tournament at the 2022 US Open. However, the Australian’s pleas are unlikely to drag Murray away from the course anytime soon. Now down to a seven handicap, he regularly posts updates on his driving range exploits to his 2.2million Instagram followers, and appears to be enjoying his new sport. Indeed, his X bio, which for so long simply stated: “I play tennis,” has now been humorously updated. Since retirement, it now reads: “I played tennis. I now play golf,” and he recently reposted a picture uploaded by Macintyre of the pair enjoying themselves at Wentworth. When Murray initially revealed his retirement date, Katie Boulter, the British female No.1, backed the icon to remain in the Team GB set-up. “He has been such an asset to British tennis, I don’t doubt for a second he is going to find a way to stay here,” she said. “In some format, he is going to be around. I know he is not going to completely disappear off this planet. I am sure of it. He has such a passion for the game, he speaks so fondly of it. I cannot see him letting it go.”