Andy Murray is thrilled by Emma Raducanu’s success and the pair have been messaging privately during her meteoric rise this summer, friends of the pair revealed.
The 18-year-old’s coaching staff had been seen wearing Murray’s Castore sportswear range while watching her at the US Open. Her team had been wearing the kit as part of a deal the brand struck with the LTA rather than any direct connection with the two-time former Wimbledon champion. However, the pair, who had played and trained together months prior to her breakthrough Wimbledon senior debut, have become close.
“He is very fond of her and thrilled by her progress,” one source close to Britain’s two tennis superstars told Telegraph Sport, adding that messages had been exchanged.
With Raducanu’s father, Ian, deciding that she should be prioritising her A-levels as her tennis career was delayed by the pandemic, she and Murray trained together during the off-season last December. Video footage on social media showed the pair rallying (watch video below). The pair had also met in two mixed doubles fixtures at the Battle of the Brits at Roehampton.
Raducanu had described how the matches had particularly helped her return of service. “I played against Andy twice at the Battle of the Brits – it was great to see how fast the incoming ball is at that level in the men’s game, so it was a great experience just trying to return his serve,” she said last year. “He’s great and the thing that makes him a great competitor is the big points – he knows exactly what to do, when to push and which points matter. He definitely zones in for the more important points, and you can feel that as it means there’s pressure on you.”
Raducanu has career links with Murray going back to 2019, when she and Jack Draper were announced by Amazon as winners of its Prime Video Future Talent Award in November 2019. Each scooped £30,000-a-year in funding along with “mentoring” from Murray. She has also enjoyed a practice session with him at Wimbledon.
Murray has been relatively quiet on his social media feeds in recent weeks, but is believed to have been sending private messages congratulating the heir to his throne as the biggest star in British tennis.
Having already dwarfed Murray’s earnings at the same age, Raducanu is on the right path to overhauling his career total of $62,059,682 (£44,859,841) on the court and the tens of millions extra he has gleaned in sponsorships and endorsements off it.
Marcel Knobil, founder of Superbrands and the Brand Council consultancy, said: “Her bank manager would be very surprised and disappointed not to see £20million in the bank within two years from sponsorship alone.” Steve Martin, global chief executive, M&C Saatchi Sport & Entertainment, had backed her to become bigger than Murray even prior to Saturday night’s final.