​Tennis Scotland is still not capitalising on the legacy created by Andy and Jamie Murray, according to their mother Judy. Cameron Norrie remains Scotland’s top singles player, ranked 29 in the world, while the newest challenger, Jacob Fearnley, sits at 159. Yet it was college tennis in the United States that laid the foundations for the Murrays’ relative success.
“It is very disappointing where we are now, given the massive shop window we had,” Murray told The Saturday Show on BBC Radio Scotland, referencing Andy, who reached world number one in singles, and Jamie, who achieved the same height in doubles. “Think back to when Jamie and Andy were in the peak years of their careers; it built enormous interest and a huge fan base across the country. We hosted many Davis Cup matches and GB matches at the Emirates Arena in Glasgow, for example.” She added that those events provided a world-class competition for Scots to attend without having to travel south, and the shop window was as large as it could possibly be.
Hewett & Reid won their seventh Wimbledon doubles title, and Ferya’s Wimbledon run ended in the semi-finals at the hands of Zverev. Today, however, Murray says she is inundated with emails and Instagram messages from parents who feel the pathway for young players is being left to families alone, with no clear or accessible route. She notes that there is only one regional tennis centre in the central belt, located at Stirling University. “Somebody told me today that their child, who is among the best in their age group across GB, has no training programme—there are no training camps,” she said. “There is no funding to take them to tournaments; it’s all down to the parents. The regional centre closes for the school holidays, which makes no sense. It’s the only one in the UK that shuts during holidays.”
That period is precisely when children are most available to train and travel, since school commitments are lighter. Murray asserts that tennis remains perceived as an affluence-dependent sport that is hard to access. Many local clubs are nestled in residential areas where building indoor facilities is challenging, and numerous schools have axed their tennis courts to such an extent that “there are only about 12 state schools in Scotland with tennis courts now.” She argues that Tennis Scotland should prioritise investment in clubs and coaches within local communities rather than maintaining a centralised system that funnels everyone to one base and channels funds mainly into full-time staff.
Tennis Scotland responded by stating it has a “positive and ambitious strategy” that has led to record investments in facilities, school tennis, and the performance pathway, which ensures that young players now receive high-quality, localized support.