In a roundabout way, Judy Murray has Strictly Come Dancing to thank for her new chapter as a novelist. Back in 2014, Murray, the longtime tennis coach, mum of sporting stars Andy and Jamie and former captain of the British Fed Cup team, was paired with the professional dancer Anton du Beke in the BBC competition. Their routines didn’t always get glittering reviews from the judges, but the duo won over viewers and made it to the eighth week. They stayed in touch post-elimination and then, during lockdown, du Beke sent over a copy of the novel he’d written, a historical romance set in the milieu of ballroom dancing.
Murray sent it back with the spelling and grammar errors highlighted in red pen. Clearly her friend wasn’t offended, because, she recalls, he told her that she should write her own set in the world of tennis: “Think of all the things over the years that you’ve seen and heard!” Du Beke put her in touch with his literary agent, and Murray started to come up with the bones of a story, rooted in her front-row perspective on the upper echelons of tennis. The result was The Wild Card, released in 2023, which grappled with abuses of power in the sport.
