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