From raising his voice for equal pay, or correcting nonchalant sexist remarks by media personnel, Andy Murray has stood tall supporting women in sports. He strongly believes that men and women coming together to compete in a sport is “something that should be celebrated.” Like Murray, American tennis star, Coco Gauff has also been very vocal about supporting women’s tennis. On that matter, she has recently highly appreciated Murray as “one of the first male players to speak up” about women’s games.

Coco Gauff started off her Italian Open campaign with a two-set victory against Poland’s Magdalena Fręch. Before playing her next match in a couple of days, she spoke to the media in Rome about her admiration for Andy Murray and his mother Judy Murray for their enormous support for women’s tennis. “Yeah, my favorite video of him is at the press conference in Wimbledon where he was, like, the first male player. Honestly, it happens a lot in tennis where people say a stat, especially with the guys. I’ll be like, Well, I did it (smiling). It’s good when they specify,” – said Gauff.

She further added, “I think for what he’s done with the women’s game, him and his mother as well, have done a lot. I would say he’s one of the first male players to speak up about it.” So, what happened actually was, during the 2017 Wimbledon press conference Andy Murray corrected a media personnel who claimed that former American tennis player, Sam Querrey was the first American player to reach a Grand Slam SF since 2009. Murray quickly jumped in to correct him that Querrey was in fact the first “male” player to have achieved that feat. Williams sisters had already won quite a few slams during that period.

However, this isn’t the first time that Coco Gauff has showcased her admiration for the British tennis legend. She has previously spoken about how Andy Murray is a “great ally” for highlighting diversity issues. The 36-year-old tennis star has previously shed light on the lack of diversity in sporting bodies in Britain. He has also frequently raised his voice to support gender equality in tennis. Gauff was inspired by Murray’s take on the lack of BAME (Black, Asian, and Minority Ethnic) board members at the Lawn Tennis Association and All England Club.

“He’s one of my favorite players to watch” – Coco Gauff on the British tennis superstar

Coco Gauff has time and again drawn praise for her stands to combat multiple social issues. Even Judy Murray also heaped praise on this youngster for her bold stands. But Gauff finds it truly amazing to see Andy Murray taking action to bring more diversity to the game. During an interview in 2020, she said, “Nothing’s wrong with asking for more diversity. For him to say that is definitely inspiring, especially with him being a man and white.” 

She further added, “For someone like him to call for diversity, it shows how great an ally he is – I love what Andy is doing on and off the court. He’s one of my favourite players to watch.” Gauff feels it’s very important to have diversity in the sports world. And being a girl she feels immense pride to represent herself as well as her nation on a global stage.

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