Andy Murray

Andy Murray is a British tennis player. He won his first grand slam title at the US Open in 2012 before going on to win Wimbledon twice in subsequent years.

Murray began playing tennis when he was around three years old. After having been born in Glasgow, he was raised in Dunblane before moving to Barcelona to improve his tennis when he was around 15 years old.

He grew up playing both tennis and football before deciding to pursue a career in the former. He made the decision to turn professional in 2005 and made his ATP Tour debut in the same year.

Murray made an instant impact on the tour and won his first ATP Tour title in San Jose in 2006. He continued to make impressive moves up the rankings and after having lost his first five grand slam finals, he finally claimed his first major title at the 2012 US Open.

He then won Wimbledon in 2013, and also claimed the title at SW19 for a second time in 2016.

His success on the tennis court has earned him more than $60m in prize money from the sport, and he is widely considered to be one of the, if not the, greatest British tennis players of all time.

So, what do we know about Andy Murray’s journey to becoming the tennis hero he is today? This is his story.

Early Life, Parents And Upbringing

Andy Murray (full name: Andrew Barron Murray) was born on 15 May 1987 in Glasgow, Scotland, to parents Judy and William. He has an older brother named Jamie, who is also a professional tennis player.

A young Andy Murray (Photo: @andymurray / Instagram)

Murray grew up in Dunblane, where he attended Dunblane Primary School, playing both football and tennis. He had a talent for both sports and was once offered a trial with Glasgow Rangers Football Club.

Murray’s parents split up when he was around 10 years old. Andy and his brother initially lived with their father while being mentored in tennis by their mother.

When he was 15 years old, he moved to Barcelona to focus on his tennis career. There, he studied at the Schiller International School and trained on the clay courts of the Sanchez-Casal Academy, coached by Pato Alvarez.

Junior Career

Murray was a strong junior player and peaked at number two in the junior rankings in January 2004.

He won five junior titles before turning professional, the biggest of which was the 2004 US Open boys’ singles trophy. Aged 17, he beat Sergiy Stakhovsky of Ukraine in the final 6-4 6-2 and said afterwards: “This is my favourite tournament and I would love to come back and win here as a senior. My long-term aim is to make the world’s top 10.”

Of the five junior titles he won, three were on hard courts, three were on clay courts and one was on carpet.

A young Katie Swan with Andy Murray after she won a national David Lloyd orange ball tournament (Photo: Katie Swan / Twitter)

Professional Career

Murray made the decision to turn professional in 2005. He made his ATP Tour main-draw debut in Barcelona after being handed a wildcard, losing to Jan Hernych in three sets.

Murray was an immediate hit on the ATP Tour and began swiftly climbing the rankings. He claimed his first ATP Tour title February 2006 at the SAP Open in San Jose. He beat the likes of Mardy Fish and Andy Roddick en route to the final, where he defeated Lleyton Hewitt of Australia to claim his first ATP Tour trophy.

“This is perfect,” Murray said afterwards. “I played solid all week. It’s been the best week of my life.”

Andy Murray (Photo: Marianne Bevis)

Murray continued to make impressive progress up the ATP rankings and he claimed his first Masters title in Cincinnati in 2008, beating then world number three Novak Djokovic 7-6, 7-6 in the final.

Grand Slam Titles

Murray reached his first grand slam final at the US Open in 2008, but lost to Roger Federer in straight sets. There were to be a further four defeats in major finals before Murray finally got his hands on a grand slam trophy in 2012.

After triumphing over Djokovic 7-6 (12-10) 7-5 2-6 3-6 6-2 in four hours 54 minutes in the Arthur Ashe Stadium, Murray said: “When I realised I had won, I was a little bit shocked, I was very relieved and I was very emotional.” His win ended Britain’s 76-year wait for a male grand slam singles champion.

Andy Murray (Photo: Marianne Bevis)

The Scot won Olympic gold at London 2012, defeating Roger Federer in the final 6–2 6–1 6–4.

Murray continued to make good progress and claimed his second grand slam title at Wimbledon in 2013. Aged 26 at the time, Murray beat Novak Djokovic 6-4 7-5 6-4 to claim the title.

Murray had lost in the 2012 Wimbledon final to Roger Federer in the previous year, and after his win in 2013, he said: “It feels slightly different to last year. Last year was one of the toughest moments of my career, so to manage to win the tournament today… It was an unbelievably tough match, so many long games.”

Andy Murray (Photo: Marianne Bevis)

The Scot won his third grand slam title at Wimbledon three years later in 2016. He beat the likes of Nick Kyrgios, Jo Wilfried-Tsonga and Tomas Berdych to reach the final, where he defeated Milos Raonic in straight sets.

Murray capped off a brilliant season in 2016 by beating five-time champion Novak Djokovic to win his first ATP World Tour Finals title and end the year as the world number one. He beat Djokovic 6-3 6-4 at London’s O2 Arena in the final.

As of August 2022, Murray had won 46 career singles titles, as well as two Olympic singles gold medals.

Net Worth And Prize Money

Unsurprisingly, Murray’s success on the court has netted him a sizable fortune in career earnings.

Of course, this number does not take into account any earnings from business ventures or sponsorship deals.

Andy Murray (Photo: @andymurray / Instagram)

As is the case with most celebrities and sports stars, there is no ‘official’ figure available for Andy Murray’s net worth. That being said, there have been a number of estimates made over the years from a variety of publications.

Meanwhile, a year earlier back in 2018, Murray was reported as having a net worth in the region of £83m ($101.6m) by The Sunday Times, with the Scot having seen an increase in wealth that year of £6m, up from from £77m in 2017.

Murray has been sponsored by the likes of Under Armour, Standard Life, Head, Rado, Jaguar and Fred Perry during his tennis career.

Andy Murray (Photo: @andymurray / Instagram)

Life Away From The Court

Murray married his wife, Kim Sears, in 2015, at Dunblane Cathedral. Sears is the daughter of player-turned-coach Nigel Sears. The couple, who initially began dating in 2005, have three children: daughters Sophia and Edie, and son Teddy.

Andy Murray with his wife Kim Sears, in 2020 (Photo: @andymurray / Instagram)

Murray is a supporter of both Premier League side Arsenal and Scottish Premiership team Hibernian.

He was knighted by Prince Charles at Buckingham Palace on 16 May 2019, joining Sir Norman Brookes in 1939 as the only tennis players to be knighted.

What Have Others Said?

Tim Henman, speaking after Andy Murray beat Novak Djokovic to win his first Wimbledon title in 2013: “I was privileged enough to go into the locker room straight after the match and Andy was basically in a state of shock. I just gave him a big hug when I got in there and said ‘I really don’t know how you did that’ and he said ‘nor do I’.”

Novak Djokovic, speaking after losing to Murray in the 2013 Wimbledon final: “The bottom line [is] he was the better player in decisive moments,” the Serb said. “He was getting some incredible points on the stretch, running down the drop shots all over the court. He played fantastic tennis, no question. I believed I could come back but it wasn’t my day.”

Milos Raonic, speaking after losing to Murray in the 2016 Wimbledon final: “He moves incredibly well, he returns well – those are his two biggest strengths, and he’s been playing well. Every time you play him, you know he’s going to get more returns back than anyone else, along with Novak.”

Lleyton Hewitt, speaking after losing to an 18-year-old Murray in the San Jose final in 2006: “He’s confident. And that’s what you need if you are going to break through on the tour at a young age. That’s why Rafael Nadal has done so well, because he’s confident and he won’t take a back seat to anyone. He never plays himself out of a point. He’s not going to go for too much or overplay. He makes you beat him.”