Ex-Tennis Star’s Life as a Dad: Happiness Off Court

For twenty years, Andy Murray lived to the rhythm of tournaments, travels and packed stadiums, fighting for the greatest titles in world tennis. Knighted for his performances, he ended a seventy-seven year British wait at Wimbledon in 2013, before adding two Olympic singles titles to his record. Since his retirement in summer 2024the former world number one has embarked on a new full-time challenge: family life, alongside his four children, Sophia (9 years old), Edie (8 years old), Teddy (6 years old) and Lola (4 years old).

“Being at home with the kids is great,” he said in “The Tennis Podcast,” where he uncompromisingly talks about his new daily life during a ninety-minute interview. “I have the immense privilege of being able to share everything with them. Monday morning, at 10 a.m., I spent three hours watching my daughter’s field hockey game. It was pouring rain, but it was wonderful. These are moments that I missed when I was still playing.

Wake-ups at dawn and Monopoly with the family

As a professional tennis player, he could sometimes afford to sleep in, as most matches only took place in the afternoon or evening. Those days are now over. “Two of my children get up at 5:45 a.m. every morning,” he says. “Yesterday, at 6 a.m., I played Monopoly with my 6-year-old son. Enough to be wide awake straight away. Our parents had to forbid my brother and me from Monopoly because it caused so many arguments at home.”

The son seems to have inherited an equally fiery temperament. The first game of Monopoly, London edition, ended in a victory for Teddy against his father. During the second, the boy set himself the goal of building hotels on the two most expensive squares, Mayfair and Park Lane. But as he only owned Mayfair, he saved his money in the hope of acquiring Park Lane, neglecting to build elsewhere.

The 6-year-old didn’t follow well-meaning fatherly advice. In the next two turns, he went bankrupt when he came across squares where his father’s properties were located. “There, it was over,” summarizes the latter. “We played for two hours, at the end my son completely lost his temper. And I asked myself why I did this to myself. Either way, this is my life now.”

Andy Murray says his children are happy that he is now home more often. However, her eldest daughter needed time to adapt to this change. “It was difficult for her when I took her to or picked her up from school or when I accompanied her to her friends’ houses. She couldn’t stand it when I got people’s attention.”

But recently, for the first time, Sophia ran straight to the car when he came to pick her up, and smiled at him. “I thought maybe she was a little less ashamed of me now.”

A short coaching session with Novak Djokovic

The role of full-time father, however, underwent a parenthesis: from the end of November 2024 to May 2025, Andy Murray accompanied Novak Djokovic as a coach. A six-month experience that he did not accept out of weariness of family life or lack of tennis, he wants to clarify. “But it was an opportunity I couldn’t pass up. I want to be a coach one day. And if I had refused Novak, I would have regretted it later. So I was happy that my wife supported me in this choice.”

This highly anticipated collaboration with Novak Djokovic However, it did not bring the expected results. The Scot supported the Serbian in his preparation for the Australian Open and played a key role in the quarter-final success against Carlos Alcarazparticularly on a tactical level. But injured, Novak Djokovic had to give up against Alexander Zverev in the next round and then never really regained his level. After a fourth consecutive defeat in the first round, the two men decided to part ways amicably. “I don’t regret having done it, but I am disappointed that we did not achieve our objectives,” confides Andy Murray.

At least one amusing anecdote came out of it. After their very first session together, Novak Djokovic asked him if he wanted to accompany him for a leisurely run in a park. Jogging has never been Andy Murray’s strong suit, but it’s hard to say no from day one. After five minutes, a cramp in his left calf pinned him down. They still continued for almost fifty minutes, at a very slow pace, in intense pain. “I held on, but it was honestly embarrassing,” he admits.

Career seen differently

He doesn’t miss tennis, assures Andy Murray. “I don’t regret the moment of serving for the first point of a match at Wimbledon. Of course, reliving a victory at Wimbledon would be extraordinary. But the price to pay to get there is immense.” After devoting a large part of his life to this sport, the Scot says he does not feel any lack today. “I am happy with this journey. But I don’t feel that emptiness that some people describe after a career.”

He also evokes the weight of comparisons with Federer, Djokovic and Nadal. “I was constantly playing against them. They represented the absolute standard. Obviously, next to their achievements, my successes seemed almost secondary. Back then, anything short of a Grand Slam title made me feel like a failure. In hindsight, that’s clearly not a healthy mentality.”

In the space of just ten days, Andy Murray’s outlook on his career has radically changed. Now, he says he is proud of his career. It was while watching his daughter running cross country that he opened his eyes: “She came seventh and I thought it was great. Seventh out of 100 children in the district. When I played tennis, finishing second in a Grand Slam seemed like a total failure. It doesn’t make any sense.”

Tennis seems very distant to him today. His wife Kim had a trophy case made, installed in the basement. “I rarely go down to see her,” he admits. Children especially have a weakness for the two Olympic gold medals, those from London 2012 and Rio 2016. “They love wearing them. At first I was pretty strict, but now I’m like, “It’s no big deal. If they get scratched, too bad.”

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