As weight-loss strategies go, giving up tennis might not seem the most obvious solution – unless, like Andy Murray, you happen to be a former Wimbledon champion.
The 37-year-old Scot, who hung up his racquets at the Paris Olympics last month, made the shock revelation that he has lost almost a stone since playing his final match.
Murray, who has spent much of his time on the golf course of late, said at a celebrity Pro-Am event in Wentworth that he had shed the pounds since he stopped working out daily in the gym and putting in the hours on the practice court.
‘It’s been five weeks I’ve not been in the gym, longest ever for me probably,’ said Murray, whose final match came alongside fellow Brit Dan Evans in the Olympic quarter-finals.
‘I don’t know if it’s appetite, if I’m not eating as much, but we obviously have loads of the sport drinks that have got a lot of calories in them, and I only really drink water and coffee now.
‘So I don’t know, I think just less calories and probably loss of muscle. I’ve lost about 11, 12 pounds. It’s a lot. I was expecting the opposite to happen. It’s about five kilos.’
Murray has made no secret of his ambition to become a scratch golfer in retirement, and the double Olympic champion certainly cut a lean figure as he worked his way down the fairways in Wentworth alongside the likes of Tom Holland and James Anderson.
But while his new physique is more down to luck than design, it will at least allay the fears of Kim Murray, his wife of almost 10 years.
‘I said to my wife, ‘Look, I’m going to make sure when I stop, I’m going to make sure I stay in good shape,” said Murray.
‘And she said: ‘Oh, if you’re just going to go and play golf, I don’t want that’. I was like: ‘No, no, I’ll get myself in the gym, make sure I stay in shape.’
‘I went to the gym three of the first four days after I stopped, worked really hard, and then went up to Scotland for a couple of days for a holiday, and haven’t been back since.’
Murray made his pro-am debut alongside Robert MacIntyre, the Scottish professional who finished equal eight at this year’s Open, and his fellow countryman was clearly impressed with his partner’s prowess.
‘I was very impressed with his game,’ MacIntyre said. ‘It was like a dream come true for me, a sporting idol of mine.’
For all his experience of the big stage, however, Murray, a former world No 1 and three-time grand slam champion, admitted he was a bundle of nerves as he received a warm reception from the crowd.
‘I couldn’t really feel my arms and legs,’ Murray said. ‘I didn’t really hit any balls on the range beforehand. I was feeling it. But it got better. It got better as the round went on.
‘It’s a different sort of nerves [to Wimbledon] because you are comfortable in the tennis environment. I’m not thinking I’m going to walk out on the tennis court and forget how to hit the ball, you just want to perform well.
‘Whereas here, you’re sort of nervous about people standing five metres away from where I’m driving, and I’m like, “I’m useless at this game.” You just want to try and keep the ball in play and don’t mess up too much.
‘I’m happy playing in front of nobody, to be honest. I’ve obviously got a lot of free time just now, so playing a few times a week, having lessons and just enjoying having something to focus my attention on.’
Free time is something Murray has had little time to enjoy over the course of a career that brought three grand slam titles, starting with the US Open in 2012. A first Wimbledon title came in 2013, when the Scot ended Britain’s 77-year wait for a homegrown Wimbledon champion, and Murray earned a second title at the All England Club in 2016. Now, though, his sights are firmly set on the golf course.
