‘I don’t think there’s a woman player, and there shouldn’t be a female athlete that is not totally supportive of Andy Murray’
Andy Murray and Serena Williams are announced to be mixed doubles partners for Wimbledon, with the pair set to play their first match together on Thursday.
With their friendship trending on Twitter, we throwback today to when Serena praised Andy for supporting her throughout her career.
Serena Williams has dealt with a huge amount of sexism as a female athlete, something she is never afraid to call out.
Two years ago tennis legend John McEnroe said that despite being the ‘best female player ever – no question’, Serena would be ranked at number 700 if she played in the men’s circuit.
The now 37-year-old Grand Slam champion was having none of it, taking to twitter to call out the comment.
‘Dear John, I adore and respect you but please please keep me out of your statements that are not factually based,’ she posted. ‘I’ve never played anyone ranked “there” nor do I have time. Respect me and my privacy as I’m trying to have a baby. Good day sir.’
Luckily, when Serena’s not around, she has close friend and feminist Andy Murray to have her back.
Then, BBC host John Inverdale congratulated Murray on becoming ‘the person ever to win two Olympic tennis gold medals’, to which Murray shot back ‘I think Venus and Serena have won about four each.’
A few years ago, a reporter made another blunder at a press conference following Murray’s defeat by US player Querrey. When the reporter referred to Querrey as ‘the first US player to reach a major semi-final since 2009’, Murray was quick to remind him that Serena had won a whopping 23 grand slams in her time.
Interrupting the interviewer mid question to correct him, Murray stated ‘male player’, to which the reporter quickly agreed, ‘yes the first male player – that’s for sure.’
When asked her thoughts about his comments, Serena Williams was quick to praise Murray, who is a keen advocate for women’s rights in sport.
‘I don’t think there’s a woman player, and there shouldn’t be a female athlete that is not totally supportive of Andy Murray,’ she stated. ‘He has spoken up for women’s issues and women’s rights, especially in tennis, for forever. And he does it again, you know! That’s who he is and one thing we love about him. He has such a wonderful mother who has been such a strong figure in his life and he’s done so much for us on our tour. We love you Andy, Andy Murray.’
We can't wait to see these two at Wimbledon.
