"I blame Rafael Nadal" - Andy Murray's mother Judy recalls Brit's complaints after noticing Spaniard's elite company during childhood

Andy Murray's mother Judy recently looked back on her son and Rafael Nadal's first interaction while speaking about the Brit's retirement from pro tennis. The two players, who met 24 times on the pro tour, had their first-ever interaction at a juniors event in Andorra.

Murray played the final competitive match of his career at the 2024 Paris Olympics on Friday (August 2), teaming up with Dan Evans in a 2-6, 4-6 loss to USA's Taylor Fritz and Tommy Paul in the men's doubles quarterfinals. The three-time Major winner subsequently received an emotional farewell from the crowd at Stade Roland Garros.

To celebrate his illustrious tennis career, ATP recently did a feature involving Andy Murray's mother Judy, his brother Jamie, and several legends of the sport. During the segment, Judy Murray recalled the time her son traveled to Andorra for the U-16 European Team Championships and how his experience there shaped his future as a tennis pro.

The future World No. 1 was joined by Rafael Nadal at the aforementioned event. They hit it off immediately, going by Judy's account. After the tournament ended, she would receive a call from her son, who complained that his training set-up was far inferior to that of the Spaniard's.

"When he [Andy Murray] went off to Andorra to play for Great Britain in the European Team Championships U-16, Rafa was playing for Spain. And the two of them after the final went off to play racquetball," Judy Murray said (2:46). "And Andy came to the phone after that, and it was, 'Would you pay for an international call from Andorra?' And immediately I'm thinking he's lost his passport, he's lost his wallet. So I was like, 'What is it? What happened?'

"And he said about playing racquetball with Rafa, 'Do you know he doesn't go to school?! He trains at the Mallorca Tennis Academy. He gets to hit with Carlos Moya! He trains in the sunshine, and what have I got? You and my brother at the university!' So, in a way, I blame Rafa. Completely blame Rafa for this."

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Andy Murray's mother reminisces about top player-turned-coach's praise for her son

Andy Murray poses with the Wimbledon trophy in 2016

Judy Murray then disclosed that soon after that call, Andy Murray joined Emilio Sanchez and Sergio Casal's tennis academy in Barcelona. Before his admission, young Murray would have a practice match with Sanchez, who was ranked as high as No. 7 in the ATP singles rankings in April 1990.

The then-teenager did enough to prove his mettle, as the former Spanish pro told his mother that he won their match convincingly. This was a telling sign to Judy about her son's tactical aptitude.

"He chose the Sanchez-Casal (top tennis academy in Barcelona) when he went over for the little trial," Judy Murray recalled (3:30). "He played two sets with Emilio Sanchez, who was a former top 10 player, and I sat in the cafe and let them go off and do it. And came back and Emilio said to Andy, 'Go have a shower. I want to talk to your mum.' And he said, 'Well, I have never seen anything like that before.'

"And I thought, 'Oh no, what's he done?' And I asked, what did he do? And he said, 'He beat me 6-3, 6-1. It's never happened to me before,' with someone as young as that to be so tactically astute."

Andy Murray turned pro in 2005, following which he established himself as one of the best tennis players of all time. The Brit won 46 singles titles, accumulated nearly $65 million in prize money, and spent 41 weeks as the World No. 1 in 2016-17.