'Extremely difficult to navigate' - Andy Murray empathises with the pressures on fellow Brit Emma Raducanu
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Updated 26/06/2022 at 13:24 GMT
Andy Murray says that he "never experienced" what Emma Raducanu did after the US Open with her life changing overnight, but that he can understand the pressures of becoming a high-profile star at a young age. Murray said it can be "incredibly difficult" to work out who is after your best interests, admitting he made mistakes earlier in his career.
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Andy Murray says he empathises with Emma Raducanu as his fellow Brit continues to grapple with her fame after winning the US Open last year.
As if reaching the fourth round of Wimbledon in 2021 at just 18 years old wasn't enough, just two months later in New York Raducanu became the first-ever player to emerge from qualifying to win a Grand Slam.
That catapulted her into the public domain, and she is ever more so under scrutiny during the Wimbledon fortnight, which begins tomorrow.
Reflecting on Raducanu's situation, Murray told the Telegraph: “It’s incredibly difficult.
"I never experienced what she experienced, your life changing overnight.
“It’s impossible to know if everyone who is then involved with you is looking out for your best interests. You know that your family wants the best for you. The families are of course going to make mistakes, because it’s new to everybody.
“I would have worked with coaches when I was younger who were not necessarily the right people for me – and management companies, too.
"You question, ‘Do they want what’s best for you or do they want to make lots of money off you?’
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Emma Raducanu celebrates with the US Open trophy
Image credit: Getty Images
"It’s extremely difficult to navigate.”
Murray, 35, is now at the opposite end of his career to Raducanu, and the father-of-four made the revelation that he may not even stay involved in the game when he retires.
Murray said: "I have interests and things outside of tennis and I know that when I finally finish, everything will be fine. The world won’t end. Whereas maybe when I was 25, and maybe at times even at the beginning of the documentary in 2017 [about his injury struggles], I was still a bit like that.
“I’ve always been interested in coaching. There’s also a chance that I might not be involved in tennis anymore.
"I feel right now that I would always have some involvement in tennis, but there are also times when I’ve been away from the sport and I’ve not watched any of the tournaments.
"That’s when I’m just at home with the kids. It’s pretty full-on, that side of things.”
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