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‘You Rarely Ever See a Woman Coaching a Man’- When John McEnroe Spoke About Andy Murray Hiring Amelie Mauresmo as His Coach

Published 07/29/2022, 6:50 AM EDT

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John McEnroe established himself as one of the best players to come out of the United States during his time on the tour. His strife with chair umpires and line judges was not much of a shock to the audience, considering his explosive character. However, that is not the only thing that defines the player. The player won seven grand slam titles and had a glorious tennis career.

Tennis gives a lot of importance to the coaches who guide the players in their approach. In a podcast appearance in 2013, McEnroe discussed women coaching male tennis players.

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John McEnroe on women coaching pro male tennis players

The former American player was discussing the role of coaches in tennis in the podcast. The player revealed that he did not like to travel with his coaches a lot. He said, “Coaching can be overrated and at times it can be critical. I didn’t have a coach who traveled with me. I did not like that.” He then talked about the top pro tennis player, Andy Murray, who was under the Aegis of Amelie Mauresmo. He said, “Murray is being coached by Mauresmo which is obviously like a left-field move.”

Furthermore, he talked about the involvement of mothers of tennis players. He said, “Few people have their mothers involved. Safin’s mother was involved.” There are a lot of instances where the fathers of women tennis players are also involved. There was Richard Williams who was the first coach of tennis legends Venus and Serena Williams. Other than him, there was Peter Graf, the coach of Steffi Graf, and others.

It is a rare possibility of seeing a woman coaching a male tennis player. McEnroe himself accepted the fact and said, “For the most part, you rarely ever see a woman coaching a man.”

How have the Williams’ sisters fared with their father?

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Richard Williams coached his two daughters from a young age on the tennis courts of Compton. Both Venus and Serena Williams turned out to be the two of the best tennis players in the world, owing to the dedication of their father.

via Getty

The seven-time Grand Slam champion, Venus Williams, will play at the Citi Open and is also excited about her participation at the National Bank Open in Toronto. On the other hand, we have Serena Williams, who has won 23 grand slam titles and is gearing up to battle for her 24th title at the US Open.

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However, before that, she will participate in the National Bank Open in Toronto and the Cincinnati Masters.

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Written by

Shivali Sharma

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Shivali Sharma is a tennis author at EssentiallySports. She has pursued her Master's in history from Himachal University, but her love for the game has driven her to write about tennis. Shivali is a huge fan of Naomi Osaka and admires Osaka not only for her on-court performances, but also for her off-court actions.
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Edited by

Tony Thomas