Andy Murray says he is considering becoming a football coach when he retires from tennis
Andy Murray says he is considering becoming a football coach when he retires from tennis as the star says he will not become a commentator
- The 36-year-old is considering shelving tennis to become a football coach
- Olympic gold medallist has already started working on plans for his retirement
It is a path well-trodden by many a sporting star.
But Andy Murray has vowed he will not become a tennis commentator when he hangs up his racquet.
The Olympic gold medallist, 36, revealed that he has been working on plans for his retirement – and held a meeting with the multinational sports agency IMG, to focus on his future in April.
Now he is considering shelving tennis – to become a football coach.
Murray, who came close to signing for a football club as a teenager, said: ‘It’s only in the last 18 months or so that I’ve started to think about my future after tennis.’
He told British Airways High Life magazine: ‘I’ve heard stories from ex-players and other athletes who’ve made no plans for retiring, and they finish and all of a sudden, it’s, ‘What am I going to do with myself?’
‘I was chatting to them about things that I might want to get involved in or really don’t want to get involved in, just starting to get a few ideas together.
Andy Murray has vowed he will not become a tennis commentator when he hangs up his racquet
‘I’m looking for something I’m really passionate about and that I want to work really hard at to achieve a specific goal. One area that ticks that box is coaching, but not necessarily in tennis. I’ll definitely want to keep busy.’
Murray, an Arsenal fan who also supports Hibernian – his grandfather once played for the Edinburgh club – has previously suggested he would be interested in earning coaching badges in football, once his career comes to an end. He has also expressed an interest in assisting professional golfers as a caddie.
One thing is certain: he will not be following in the footsteps of former Wimbledon champions such as John McEnroe and Boris Becker – after a previous attempt at match commentary ended in disaster.
The star, who won Wimbledon in 2013 and 2016, struggled to find things to say during a four-hour match between Rafael Nadal and Juan Martin del Potro – and the match ended up going on so long that he missed a dinner appointment.
![Murray, an Arsenal fan who also supports Hibernian – his grandfather once played for the Edinburgh club – has previously suggested he would be interested in earning coaching badges in football](https://i.dailymail.co.uk/1s/2023/07/10/01/73027327-12281247-image-a-83_1688949829094.jpg)
Murray, an Arsenal fan who also supports Hibernian – his grandfather once played for the Edinburgh club – has previously suggested he would be interested in earning coaching badges in football
He and his wife Kim, the daughter of player-turned-coach Nigel Sears, who have four children – Sophia, seven, Edie, five, Teddy, three, and a two-year-old believed to be called Lola – already have a number of business ventures.
In 2013 they bought the luxury Scottish country house hotel Cromlix, which is close to the town of Dunblane, where he grew up and they have overseen its refurbishment. They have also put in planning applications for nine additional cabins which they hope to build later this year.
Murray also has a substantial stake in the British sportswear brand Castore, is a shareholder in Game4Padel, a fast-growing game which is a cross between tennis and squash and TMRW Sports, a venture launched by Tiger Woods and Rory McIlroy.
And he is a supporter of British startups – he has a long association with the UK crowdfunding platform Seedrs – and is a global ambassador for Unicef and the World Wide Fund for Nature.
Last year he donated £510,000 – his whole year’s prize money – to help displaced Ukrainian children and received an Arthur Ashe Humanitarian Award in recognition of his efforts. Murray is the first British man to win multiple Wimbledon singles titles since Fred Perry in 1936.
But he had to wait for his success. He famously gave a tearful speech after losing his first Wimbledon final against Roger Federer in 2012.
Twelve months later, he finally ended Britain’s 77-year wait for a male champion – the then Duke and Duchess of Cambridge and former champions Bjorn Borg, Stefan Edberg and Boris Becker were among those watching from the Royal Box.
He went on to became a Wimbledon champion for the second time in 2016 when he beat Canadian Milos Raonic in five sets, repeating his 2013 triumph and claiming a third Grand Slam title.
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