JUDY Murray, the mother of tennis champions Andy and Jamie Murray, has suggested Andy Murray may only have two more years at the top of the game.
Speaking at the Edinburgh International Book Festival, she revealed her frustration that her plan for a tennis and sport complex outside Dunblane has been considered for planning by Scottish ministers for a year.
She said she would like to establish a legacy from her own distinguished coaching career as well as that of her sons before they are over.
Ms Murray said: “I think the thing that worries me now is that Andy may not play for much longer, he has been around for maybe ten, twelve years, playing on the ATP tour at the top of the game.
"And there has been plenty of time to start to build a legacy and to capitalise on it, and there just hasn’t been done.
“My worry is that if you want to build a base somewhere, which is what I am trying to do, it’s going to take two years to build it, and by the time it is built, he has stopped playing.”
She added: "My plan is with Scottish Ministers at the moment, it has been there almost a year.
“ It is disappointing that it is taking so long."
Ms Murray also weighed in on the subject of the equal treatment of female and male tennis players.
She said she would rather see men play three sets - as women do now - instead of five. She also backed equal pay for the Grand Slam tournaments.
She said: "I think that I would rather see the men play three sets and have it all as three sets.
"I think there are implications for women playing five sets that would mean that the tournaments needs more court time, it would just take a whole lot longer.
"I also think that five sets is a great spectacle and special at a Grand Slam, but for the guys, playing five sets, sometimes you are out there for four, five hours and especially if you are playing in Australia where the heat is just amazing, I mean it takes so much out of them, it is so tough on them."
She added: "At the Slams, I think it is fine for them to have the same money. I think you will notice with that the WTA and the ATP tours, it is market forces that dictate what the fee is.
“In the slams, I would go equal but I would rather have the men play three sets.”
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