Inside Andy Murray and Emma Raducanu's close friendship - from mentoring to mixed doubles
5 July 2024, 12:59 | Updated: 5 July 2024, 16:48
Andy Murray and Emma Raducanu will play together in the mixed doubles of Wimbledon, but what do we know about their relationship as British tennis players?
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Andy Murray, 37, and Emma Raducanu, 21, will play together in the mixed doubles of Wimbledon 2024 on 6th July; the first time they have played together at the London Championships.
The tennis stars, however, already know each other very well with the Scottish athlete mentoring the breakout star in the past and watching her game improve throughout the years.
Emma has previously revealed how much she has looked up to Andy, first meeting him when she was just nine-years-old during a training camp run by Judy Murray.
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As the pair prepare to step out onto Centre Court together, we take a look at Andy and Emma's close friendship throughout the years.
How did Andy Murray and Emma Raducanu meet?
Andy Murray and Emma Raducanu first met when the tennis star was just nine-years-old; she was taking part in an under-10s girls' training camp run by the tennis star's mother, Judy.
Speaking of this meeting, Judy said: "What impressed me then was she asked a lot of questions, she was very smart and very good."
Their paths crossed again in 2019, when Emma was 16-years-old, and she - alongside Jack Draper - won a mentorship form the grand-slam champion.
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Did Andy Murray mentor Emma Raducanu?
Yes, Andy Murray became Emma Raducanu's mentor in 2019 when she and Jack Draper won the Prime Video Future Talent Award.
The pair won £60,000 in funding over two years as well as the services of Andy Murray as a mentor.
Have Emma Raducanu and Andy Murray ever played together?
Andy and Emma have not played in mixed doubles before, making the Wimbledon pairing even more special.
They have, however, played against one another in the past. In June 2020, Emma played against Andy twice in two mixed doubles matches at Battle of The Brits - she won one alongside Joe Salisbury and lost one alongside Kyle Edmund.
Reflecting on this, Emma previously said: "I played against Andy twice and 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."
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What have Andy Murray and Emma Raducanu said about each other?
Andy Murray has been vocal in his support of Emma Radacanu, and she has equally shown her admiration for the player over the years.
After Emma won the US Open in 2021 at the age of only 18-years-old, Andy said in an interview: "I spent a little bit of time around her on the practice court, but more so in the same building, training close to each other, and watching what she's doing.
"I think for a lot of the people involved in British tennis, we knew she was extremely good."
More recently, during this year's Wimbledon, Emma said of her mentor: "When I think of Wimbledon, I think of Andy. Growing up, that was the generation, the hero I would look up to. Wimbledon is Andy Murray on Centre Court."
The idea of teaming up for mixed doubles has been around for a couple of years now, first being floated in 2022. Emma said: "We haven’t actually spoken about it but it’s something we feel we both want to do."
Following the announcement of the mixed doubles, Andy explained how the pairing had come to be. He told the press earlier this week: “We’d spoken about it a few years ago during the Covid year, but both of us ended up doing quite well in singles so it didn’t happen.
“And then yesterday I was chatting to my team, they were discussing mixed and then last night I messaged her coach and just said: ‘Look, do you think this is something that maybe she’d be up for doing?’ He said it was worth asking. I asked her and she said yeah she’d be up for it.
"It should be fun. I have played mixed doubles a few times when I was young and then the last time was with Serena. I really enjoyed it, it’s something we rarely get to do.”
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