Andy Murray may have enjoyed an iconic tennis career but he has advised younger players to avoid a mistake he made as a teenager. The 38-year-old began showing a passion for the sport as a child, mentored by his mother Judy, and eventually became a three-time Grand Slam winner.
The former Wimbledon champion dedicated himself to tennis from an early age, though he has focused on golf since retiring last year. A promising footballer, he notably turned down the opportunity to train at Rangers’ academy. Instead, Murray opted to pursue a tennis career and made the bold decision to move to Barcelona at the age of 15. He spent a year being trained in Spain but has urged others to avoid making the same choice due to the knock-on effect it had on his education.
In an appearance on snooker legend Stephen Hendry’s Cue Tips, Murray explained his decision to live in Barcelona. “So I moved there when I was 15 and studied there for like a year, but, yeah, no qualifications,” he said.
“I actually, I mean, things worked out fine for me, but I regret that. Like you said, I would not give that advice to my own children. If they were in that situation, I’d be like, ‘Look keep doing your sport or what your passion is but just keep up with [education].
“People hear about the success stories. I went over to Barcelona to train and they see that that’s what a top player has done so they then think, ‘Oh, I must send my kid there because that’s how they’re going to become top tennis players.’
“But at the academy I was at, there would have been 200, 300 kids there during that time and only two or three of them would have become professional players. So, I wish I’d spent more time focusing on my education.
Murray shared his worries about promising players striving to replicate his journey, even the missteps. The Olympic gold medal winner also confessed that he failed to learn Spanish during his time abroad, despite living in Barcelona.
“When I was over in Spain, that was probably a good time to learn a language and it didn’t happen for me but I regret that as well,” Murray added. “I mean, I could be wrong, but I think we are a little bit lazy in this country with languages just because we can get away with it for the most part when we’re travelling.
“I went to the academy in Spain and never learned Spanish because all of the kids there, it was an American school I was at, and basically all of the coaches had to speak English.
