Judy Murray has revealed how observing pushy parents helped her determine the right approach to raising tennis champions Jamie and Andy. The mother of the two Grand Slam winners played a crucial role in their development, but says she avoided the pitfalls of overbearing behaviour she witnessed at courtside.
In an interview with The Times, she recalled seeing parents who would offer treats to their children only if they won matches, or shout instructions from the sidelines. “You would see the kids fearfully looking across and not wanting to disappoint their parents, and then being worried about their performance and then not enjoying it,” she said.
Murray stressed that losing is a valuable learning tool. “You learn more when you’re losing, you learn more from a mistake or a defeat than you do from a win — but you’ve obviously got to learn how to deal with both,” she explained. She also noted that parents can become overly invested in individual sports, which adds stress to young athletes.
Having started as a volunteer coach at Dunblane Sports Club, Murray now writes novels and has created youth tennis competitions that emphasise fun and teamwork over individual pressure. In these events, players earn points for their team and are encouraged to socialise and share treats after matches.
