Andy Murray agrees with Martina Navratilova on change they’d want to see in tennis, ‘I don’t like it’
Andy Murray, despite having been retired for nearly two years now, remains as relevant as ever.
After all, he has never really strayed far from the tennis limelight, having taken up a coaching role with Novak Djokovic at the start of last year, and opted to partner with Jack Draper this year.
Thus far, neither have really been all that successful, but it’s also important to note that neither of these two stars were truly fit enough to reap the benefits of his wisdom.
The Scotsman will have plenty to offer to a player as well, having enjoyed a sparkling career spent battling against the very best that tennis has ever produced, and at times winning.
So, with that in mind, it’s often worth listening to his opinion on the sport with great interest, even if it is calling for a radical rule change.
Andy Murray wants tennis to get rid of the let rule
Speaking on the LTA Padel’s Instagram account, the three-time Grand Slam champion was answering a series of questions, ironically focused around tennis’ new fast-growing racket sports rival, padel.
However, when asked one rule he would change within that sport, he quickly related it to tennis.
If you were in charge of tennis, what is the first rule you would change?
Andy Murray admitted: “I would probably get rid of a let on serves. Same thing with tennis, don’t like it.”
Ironically, this is a view shared by Martina Navratilova, who has called for this alteration in the past as well.
Her passion on this topic is evident: “Do away with that let cord, you know I talk about it all the time. Nobody’s moving forward on that; get rid of it, it’s useless!
“No, play the let, play the ball, it’s a live ball. Every once in a while, you get that dribbler that would be an ace, but that happens once every three matches, so just play. Most of the lets are just a little nick; keep playing, speed up the game.”
This comes not long after Naomi Osaka and Ben Shelton both called for new rules to be implemented in tennis.
The real rule change that tennis needs to make
Whilst it’s fun to debate trivial alterations people would like within the sport, Alexander Zverev’s recent call for a rule change holds real weight.
After all, his argument is a rock-solid one, and serves to improve tennis for both the players and the fans.
The 12-day Masters 1000 format has been criticised relentlessly ever since its introduction last year, even if the Canadian Open tournament director has defended it.
Is some of the tennis schedule irrelevant?
It drags out tournaments, much to the frustration of the players, and leaves fans with maybe one good match a day, if they’re lucky.
It’s quite clear that this is a financially driven decision, although those who have spearheaded this change insist otherwise.
