"When I started working with Amelie, saw the way that she was treated" - Andy Murray explains what made him stand up for women

Speaking to the media ahead of his Citi Open campaign, Andy Murray revealed that working with former coach Amelie Mauresmo helped him fully understand and react to the injustices suffered by women.

Murray is often seen championing women's causes or supporting women suffering from discrimination. He has championed equal pay for female tennis players in the past and is often seen correcting nonchalant sexist remarks by sports journalists.

While speaking to the media ahead of the Citi Open, the three-time Major champion was asked to elaborate on the role of an athlete in combating or speaking about injustices.

"Well, I think everyone's different, so I don't think that every athlete necessarily should have the same role or speak out about everything," Murray said.

He spoke about how working with former coach Amelie Mauresmo from 2014 to 2016 made him stand up more actively for injustices against women.

"But there's been certain topics and subjects that have been important to me during my career, and I've felt personally, yeah, wanted to stand up for the women," Murray said, adding, "That started really after I started working with Amelie Mauresmo. Before then it was not something, being perfectly honest, I thought about. I was just thinking about my own career and focusing on that and my tennis."

The 35-year-old further highlighted that he turned to his mother and first coach Judy Murray for advice during instances when he saw Mauresmo being mistreated.

"When I started working with Amelie, saw the way that she was treated, I then started to ask more questions to like my mum about it," Andy Murray explained. "She's been a tennis coach in a pretty sort of male-dominated sport for her whole life. I asked about some of the challenges and stuff that she faced. Obviously spoke to Amelie about it."

Murray also explained that working with Mauresmo would see him face questions from the press that he was never asked during his stint with other coaches. According to him, this made him sense that there was a deeper issue and that he needed to actively combat it.

"Obviously I was getting asked a lot of questions from media, which I hadn't been asked in the past with any of my other coaches," Andy Murray added. "Then started to see there was maybe an issue there, and I needed to speak out about that."

"If something touches you personally and it's important to you, then I think it's important athletes speak out" - Andy Murray

Andy Murray during a press conference at Wimbledon this year

During the press conference, Andy Murray explained that the fact men and women come together to compete in tennis is unique and that it "should be celebrated."

He firmly believes that it is a "positive thing" for tennis and is also very lucrative for sponsors and broadcasters.

"I have always felt since then that the fact that the men and women compete together in the biggest events is unique in kind of a global sport, one of the biggest sports in the world," Andy Murray said. "It's something that should be celebrated. I think it's a really positive thing."

"I think it's a great message," he added. "I think it's great for sponsors and television. I just see it as a really positive thing for the sport. I try to speak out about that when I can."

He asserted that athletes should speak out about injustices on issues they connect to or find important, but added that not everybody should be expected to take the same approach.

"Yeah, if something I guess touches you personally and it's important to you, then I think it's important athletes speak out," Andy Murray said. "But I don't think it's sort of a one-size-fits-all approach for everyone."