Legend in more ways than one.

  • DxK@lemmy.world
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    3 months ago

    For anyone OOTL this is real, and it’s a very Andy Murray thing to say regarding his own retirement. He’s a funny guy.

    He also immediately changed his twitter bio from “I play tennis.” to “I played tennis.”

  • pocopene@lemmy.world
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    3 months ago

    If I hadn’t heard about Andre Agassi’s autobiography I’d read this tweet as a joke, but now I’m not sure any more.

      • BodePlotHole@lemmy.world
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        3 months ago

        Andre Agassi famously admitted he hates tennis. Apart from playing professionally he had no interest in the sport whatsoever.

      • jqubed@lemmy.world
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        3 months ago

        Seems very similar to the Tiger Woods arc, showed some promise as a child, overbearing-perhaps-abusive father pushed him into heavy training to become the best in the world, actually succeeded at a young age and made a bunch of money but hated everything about it and got into a destructive lifestyle including drugs, eventually crashing out. The main difference was when Agassi got clean he was able to make a successful return to the game and seemed to have a healthier relationship with the game. But I don’t think he has the kind of love for the game that you hope the greats of a sport have.

  • rainynight65@feddit.org
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    3 months ago

    What I most respect about Andy Murray is how unhesitatingly he has taken stances against sexism in the sport, as well as other systemic problems.

  • chonglibloodsport@lemmy.world
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    3 months ago

    Tennis is infamous for being the loneliest sport in the world. It’s surprising when a top player like Agassi or Murray comes out and admits they don’t like the sport but there are many stories from lower ranked players about how soul destroying (and money-losing) it is.

    If you’re not in the top 100 in the ATP or WTA rankings, you’re basically living tournament to tournament and often can’t even afford a coach. Every year you don’t make the top 100 you need to seriously consider retiring and doing something else with your life so you don’t end up broke in your 30’s.

    Compare that with a team sport like NBA basketball which has about 450 players across all teams and a league minimum salary over $1 million per year (and a median salary over $5 million). That means if you’re just outside the top 100 players in the NBA you’re actually paid more than $10 million a year. It’s a staggering difference!

    • Annoyed_🦀 @monyet.cc
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      3 months ago

      I think that’s true for a lot of non-popular sport. More often than not you have to train yourself to represent the country that don’t pay you much attention. I remember stories about some athletes(fencing i think) having to juggle between job and training, and some sport barrier of entry is quite high, so athletes tend to have a hard time giving up. You’re not seen if you don’t win a gold, and you’re expect to fund yourself and pave the way yourself.

      This is one of the article talking about the issue.