Friday, March 29, 2024
NewsJudy Murray reveals Scotland star Maloney was tennis ace at 13

Judy Murray reveals Scotland star Maloney was tennis ace at 13

JUDY MURRAY has revealed Scottish football star Shaun Maloney could have swapped Hampden for Wimbledon after competing against her sons at junior level.

The 57-year-old tennis coach shared a photo of the tournament ladder from an under 12’s tennis event in 1994 which featured his superstar sons, Jamie and Andy, as well as former Celtic man Maloney.

Maloney eventually chose to pursue a life in football instead of tennis, going on to win 47 Scotland caps and countless awards in a trophy-laden careers.

However, Judy feels things could have been different as the little winger, who was also “very good” with a racket in his hand.

Judy shared a picture of the tournament ladder from a 1994 tennis tournament in Edinburgh when Jamie was just eight years old and Andy was seven.

Also competing in the boys under 12’s tournament was a young Shaun Maloney, who would have been 11 at the time.

Judy Murray posted the draw from a 1994 junior tennis event featuring Scotland footballer Shaun Maloney.

She shared the picture with her 203,000 Twitter followers with the caption: “12u tennis event in Edinburgh 1994. Jamie (8) Andy (7) @colin_fleming @GavinRumgayTT + Shaun Maloney. Who knew?”

The event was packed with sporting talent as it also featured future tennis professional Colin Fleming as well as British champion Table Tennis player Gavin Rumgay.

Maloney and the Murray brothers were joined in the competition by Scotland squash internationalist Harry Leitch.

Also in the event were squash internationalist Harry Leitch and former Scotland rugby player Phil Goodman.

 

Phil Godman, former Scotland fly-half, also took part in the tournament in 1994.

 

Judy was quick to praise Maloney’s skills when a Twitter user asked: “Was Shaun Maloney any good at Tennis?”

She answered: “Yes. Very good. Gave it up for football age 13.”

Murray said that Maloney was a promising talent before choosing football over tennis in his early teens.

She also had some points to make about the current state of junior tennis in Scotland.

When a user pointed out that Andy and Jamie wouldn’t be allowed to play nowadays as they’d be too young, she wrote: “Too many restrictions and not enough variety of competitive opportunities at a young age. Has to be fun or kids find other things to do.

“Junior tennis was certainly a lot better then than it is now. That is for sure.”

Judy was outspoken about the current state of youth tennis in Scotland.

Maloney has played over 150 times for Celtic and also enjoyed success in the English Premier League with Aston Villa, Wigan and current club Hull City.

The 34-year-old has scored seven times for Scotland including a memorable winner against Ireland during the qualification campaign for the 2016 World Cup.

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