Judy Murray on how COVID has stalled equality in sport

The world of sport has always traditionally been male dominated, but while great strides have been made in recent years for female athletes, tennis coach and TV star Judy Murray is worried that the pandemic will have a huge effect on women’s sport.

“COVID at the moment has stalled a lot of things, just when we were getting some momentum,” she told Kate Thornton on podcast White Wine Question Time.

She continued: “Even if you look at what's happened in the last few weeks. Men's rugby – the Six Nations – goes ahead and the women's is dropped. The boys' training academies with the English Premiere League clubs are allowed to go ahead, but the women's or the girls are all stopped.

Read more: Judy Murray on how sexism labelled her a pushy mum

“It regularly happens – that it's almost like the woman doesn’t really matter – let's make sure the men get what they want.”

Listen: Judy Murray talks about being labelled a pushy mum – and how it wouldn’t have happened to a man!

In her new series Driving Force, Judy Murray talks to female sporting stars about their back story and fighting to compete in what is essentially a man’s world. The former Strictly Come Dancing star says she hopes the series, which airs on Sky Sports Mix, will help get people talking about these issues and how there’s a need to get more women in all areas of sport, not just competing.

“The Driving Force will help us to talk about that again – we do need women to use their voices, but we also need male advocacy,” she said.

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“We need men at the top to understand the importance of empowering women within sport, not just playing, not just coaching, but it is administrating officials, decision makers, journalists, broadcasters.

“We need a more even spread if we are going to encourage more women to get out and get active - and the bigger the number is, of course, the more chance you have of those people climbing the ladder.”

Murray, who says she’s experienced much sexism herself as a coach, has also seen first-hand how females in higher level roles aren’t always accepted. She told Thornton about the backlash her son Andy experienced when he appointed a female coach, former tennis champion Amélie Mauresmo.

“She had been a former world number one, the grand slam champion and for him, it was all about her skillset… And she was absolutely right for him at that time of his development,” she explained.

“He didn't think about gender at all. It was about what she could do.

“What it did was it raised an incredible amount of scepticism and criticism and even nasty jibes from some of the other male players saying, ‘Oh, is this a joke? What are you going to announce tomorrow? That you're working with a dog?’”

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While Murray admits that advances have been made across the world of sport, she says there’s still some way to go before there is anywhere near true equality.

“Sport, like most of the world, is a male dominated domain and we were very late to the party, but we are starting to make inroads in the last 10 years or so,” she said.

“I think we've made huge strides forward, but we still have to keep our foot on the gas and we still have to keep going.”

This year has provided Murray a chance to slow down professionally, which she’s enjoyed. While it’s given her a chance to re-assess her working life, she’s determined to carry on supporting female athletes in whatever way she can.

Read more: Andy Murray on the sexism of SPOTY: ‘Female athletes don’t get the recognition’

“You don't need to try to be all things to all people - you get to stage where it’s somebody else's turn to have a go,” she said about her tennis career.

“I feel like I've done my bit and actually, maybe that's the side that can be parked a bit and I'll stick to trying to support the women in sport, because I feel we've got momentum.

“I feel we need to keep our foot on the gas and I would love to just be there as a voice at the end of the phone or the end of an email or a voice message for someone who is maybe having a bit of a bit of a struggle.”

Hear Judy Murray talk about what it’s really like watching Andy win at Wimbledon in the latest episode of White Wine Question Time. Listen now on iTunes and Spotify.

Watch: Judy Murray talks about watching Andy at Wimbledon in her new series, Driving Force