Why Judy is making a tennis racket

Sir Andy Murray's mum believes sports lessons at primary school are crucial ...for keeping our children healthy and finding the next generation of talent

- By Hannah Britt

MUM to two former world number one tennis players, Judy Murray is calling on the government to provide coaches at public courts to make the game less elite and more accessible to all.

The tennis coach also wants to see a specialist teacher employed installed in every primary school, to promote physical activity and create sports stars of the future.

She says: ‘‘Helping our kids to develop physical literacy, for me, is just as important as numerical and alphabetical skills.’’

As tennis fans enjoy Wimbledon, Judy says the game ‘‘needs to be affordable’’.

The former Strictly and Celebrity MasterChef star says: ‘‘The perception of tennis for many people is that it’s difficult to access, difficult to do and expensive.

‘‘Not everybody’s got money to pay for coaching.

‘‘For us to really open the game up more, or put it into places where it doesn’t exist, it needs to be accessible.’’

Judy, 66, continues: ‘‘I want the government to provide coaches at public tennis courts.

‘‘Loads of people take up tennis at this time of year because of Wimbledon and we need to catch them and keep them. The key? Show them how it’s done.

‘‘If you’re going along to play anything for the first time or the second time and you quite enjoy it, it’s good if there’s somebody there that can actually show you what to do.

‘‘You need people driving activity on a regular basis and creating a community hub or club around them.’’