Sir Andy Murray: A lesson in personal branding
Despite an early reputation of being ‘dull and grumpy’, Sir Andy Murray has captured the hearts of the British sporting public. What can we learn from his transition from stomping teenager to sporting hero?
From ‘dull and grumpy’ to British sporting hero, Andy Murray has become a national treasure in his two decades in the public eye. His retirement is dominating the news agenda and it’s devastating for many, from young players who aspire to be him and the spectators that love the thrill of his nail biting matches, to leading the admirable fight for gender equality in sport. Tennis without Murray is like Wimbledon without strawberries and cream.
His reputation, however, hasn’t always been quite so rosy.
Murray emerged onto the elite tennis scene in 2004 when he won the US Open Junior Singles title. He proceeded to his Tour-level debut as a wild card entrant reaching the third round of both Queen’s and Wimbledon the following summer. The nation classed him as the next British hopeful, one that could surpass the achievements of British star, Tim Henman. He rose to stardom but with that, came immense pressure.
As a teenager on the professional tour, he was fiery, to say the least. In 2011, an article in the Daily Telegraph described Murray’s default manner on court as ‘a stomping grumpiness’ and that ‘his tennis raises the heart, but his manners sink the spirits’. He also lost fans south of the Scottish border for saying he would be supporting ‘anyone but England’ in the football World Cup.
He has never been one to bow down to the media – as we know from the viral clip of him correcting a journalist’s ‘casual sexism’ in a post-match interview at Wimbledon in 2017. Interviews failed to showcase his true personality and he admitted that the media made him defensive, so the nation only knew the cagey version of Andy. In terms of his media portrayal, we know it takes two to tango. While Murray may have seemed reluctant to engage with the press in his early career, the media were not particularly kind to him either, fuelling his defensive attitude.
The vicious cycle continued despite the opportunities he had to shout about the impact he was having on sport and communities. Many stars in the public eye capitalise on the good they do, much like businesses publicise their ESG initiatives, but he was never one to PR himself.
When Murray’s negative reputation continued to hit the headlines, he knew he had to set the record straight.
London 2012 provided the opportunity to show the world what it meant to play for his country. He was incredibly proud to be a flag bearer at the Opening Ceremony of the Olympic Games, and he carried the British flag with his heart on his sleeve. In matches, tennis enthusiasts around the world witnessed Murray’s grit, determination and fierce passion, rather than the frustration they were used to seeing. He changed people’s perception of him and left no doubts in anyone’s mind about how much it meant to him to compete, and win gold, for Great Britain.
Grumpy Murray was no more and the nation began to love him.
Murray continued to change the narrative in one of his most powerful interviews that stole the hearts of the nation. After being defeated by the legendary Roger Federer in the Wimbledon final, Murray tearfully took the microphone to express what the sport and overwhelming support really meant to him, whilst managing to inject a bit of dry humour. There wasn’t a dry eye on Centre Court and his reputation changed yet again through his expression of raw emotion.
The tables turned and it was from this point that Murray went on to secure three Grand Slam titles and lead his nation to win the Davis Cup. He had finally solidified his status as a true British sporting legend.
The events alone did not change his reputation. It was Murray’s shift in demeanour and acceptance to be himself that won people over. Murray’s fans (like myself) understood his passion, but it took cooperation with the cameras for others to see it too.
Over the years, Murray has learned to embrace and capitalise on his relationship with the media. He no longer sees them as the enemy but utilises his powerful platform to speak openly on several social issues, including equality. He is never afraid to call people out on inaccurate comments and is respected for being unapologetically honest. Through his leadership on important issues such as equal pay for women’s tennis, Murray has proved himself to be an asset, not just an ultra-competitive athlete.
Andy Murray’s reputational journey is a lesson to many but what we can take away is that authenticity and pride always win.
His bow out to tennis has been summed up in true Murray style, with a tweet that simply read, ‘Never even liked tennis anyway’.
