Andy Murray has urged young players to stay off social media after defeats to avoid abuse. And the Scot, 37, has revealed tennis changing rooms are a lot quieter because modern stars spend more time on their phones.
Murray made his Wimbledon debut back in 2005 before the age of Instagram, TikTok and X.
And the father-of-four, who has undergone a back operation in a bid to be fit for a final appearance in SW19, told the Sunday Times: “There is a lot less chat in the locker room now. Players are focused on their phones. I don’t know if you’ve ever had abuse on social media, but if you went on your phone after this and people said, ‘What a s*** interview! He’s terrible at his job!’
“Well, you question yourself. You wonder if you should have done something differently. ‘Is my serve really that bad?’ I ask myself more questions than I did at the beginning. So I try to avoid it.
“The first person you should speak to after a match is your coach, but that isn’t the case for a lot of players now. Yet one of the most important things is to not get too high with wins or low with losses, because 128 guys start in a draw and only one wins. You walk away disappointed most weeks of your life, so you need to be able to cope. And if you’re reading social media, that can be difficult.”
His mother Judy claimed last year that young players were targeted online by gamblers.
“A lot of people put money on tennis players,” said the former Fed Cup captain. “If you’re one of the people who’ve lost them money then the death threats that come through, it’s horrible.”
Andy Murray said his mother, brother Jamie and wife Kim provide his support network.
“My wife grew up around tennis,” he said. “Her dad’s a coach (Nigel) on the professional tour. She’s been really helpful over the years.
“A lot of effort goes into a performance and when it doesn’t go well, it’s a big crash, a huge letdown. That’s why it’s so important to have a great support structure. Because it’s obviously not helpful if your family say: ‘That was a disaster!’ But mine have been really helpful. I’ve been lucky.”
