{"id":578036,"date":"2026-04-02T20:03:12","date_gmt":"2026-04-02T20:03:12","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/578036\/"},"modified":"2026-04-02T20:03:12","modified_gmt":"2026-04-02T20:03:12","slug":"why-tennis-stars-like-andy-murray-turn-to-investment-during-and-after-their-careers","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/578036\/","title":{"rendered":"Why tennis stars like Andy Murray turn to investment during and after their careers"},"content":{"rendered":"

When Andy Murray<\/a> was weighing up his latest investment, he didn\u2019t leave anything to chance.<\/p>\n

After the usual meetings with bosses at Hylo, a running-shoe brand focused on sustainability, Murray conducted a different kind of due diligence: He tried the shoes himself. Then he asked his wife, Kim, and her runner friends, to do the same. Then he went to local stores, asking owners if people were buying the shoes and what they thought of them.<\/p>\n

Satisfied with his DIY market research, Murray made a significant investment \u2014 neither he nor Hylo would confirm its exact magnitude \u2014 which was announced Wednesday with a deadpan news release and video in keeping with the personality tennis fans knew during his on-court career.<\/p>\n

\u201cThis isn\u2019t about him,\u201d the news release said.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt goes without saying that this partnership has definitely, completely, utterly nothing to do with Andy\u2019s desire to one up his former sparring partner and to recreate the success that he\u2019s had in the running industry.\u201d<\/p>\n

That sparring partner is Roger Federer<\/a>, the 20-time Grand Slam champion and investor in On, another running-shoe brand with tennis and apparel lines. In 2019, Federer invested $50 million for a three-percent stake. Six years later, following the launch of a tennis shoe called the Roger, Federer\u2019s stake was worth more than $375 million and a key driver in his becoming the seventh billionaire athlete, as estimated by Forbes.<\/p>\n

Whether they first get involved while playing, or wait until after retirement, tennis stars are increasingly turning toward the investment world as a vehicle for their lives during and after tennis. During their careers, they are investments, for equipment and apparel sponsors, brands seeking endorsements, and even tournaments paying appearance fees. Building those careers also takes significant investment, whether from family or other figures who are seeking a return of their own.<\/p>\n

For players like Murray, Federer, Serena Williams,<\/a> Maria Sharapova<\/a> and Andy Roddick<\/a>, leaving the court has meant putting their minds to returns of a different kind, and finding parallels between the skills they used to win Grand Slam titles and the ones they need to make decisions about how and why to invest their career earnings.<\/p>\n

\u201cInvesting was something I did a bit when I was playing,\u201d Murray, who became an associate partner with venture capital firm Redrice in May last year, said during a video interview a couple of weeks ago.<\/p>\n

\u201cBut I take a little bit more of an interest in it now since I finished because I have a bit more time and am able to get a bit more involved.\u201d<\/p>\n

Murray, 38, has independently invested in more than 40 companies. He made the majority of his investments before he retired from tennis in summer 2024, and before joining Redrice.<\/p>\n

During a career in which he reached world No. 1, and won three Grand Slam titles and two Olympic golds, his most significant one came in 2019. He took an equity stake in the clothing brand Castore, alongside a sponsorship deal, before launching the collaborative clothing line AMC. At the time, Castore was a barely known four-year old company yet to turn a profit. It is now worth around $1.3 billion, with Murray\u2019s net worth around $110 million.<\/p>\n

Murray\u2019s investment in Hylo follows the opposite pattern, because Redrice was part of an early-stage $3.1 million investment in 2022. But whenever and wherever he and other stars have invested, one throughline has been applying lessons from their sporting lives to their financial ones. Decades of evaluating opponents psychologically naturally lends itself to feeling out how potential partners might behave \u2014 and whether or not they will be a good fit.<\/p>\n

\u201cYou can have a great idea, but if the people who are running the business are not good people then it\u2019s likely to fail,\u201d Murray said. During a recent phone interview, Tom March, who founded Redrice, likened Murray\u2019s attention to detail regarding Hylo\u2019s potential to the process of choosing and changing racket specs and tensions.<\/p>\n

Other stars who have moved into the financial world echo these kinds of analogies, based on the knowledge that sporting careers are short and that their lives stretch well beyond their achievements on the tennis court. Business offers both financial opportunity and a sense of purpose beyond sport \u2014 plus the chance to be part of a team. Players often speak of chasing the adrenaline they had while playing, which can lead them to pursuits like poker, that carry a much higher degree of risk, or to the complete opposite.<\/p>\n

Roddick<\/a>, who has amassed a small fortune from a commercial real estate company, described his investment as \u201cthe most boring business you\u2019ll ever hear about\u201d during a 2024 interview.<\/p>\n

\u201cI was very well aware that it would end one day. I didn\u2019t know when, I didn\u2019t know how, but I was always in the mindset that I wanted to have the strongest foundation to build something,\u201d Maria Sharapova, who launched now-defunct candy brand Sugarpova during her career and has become an angel investor since, said during an interview with Roddick\u2019s podcast, Served<\/a>.<\/p>\n

Serena Williams, who set up Serena Ventures in 2017, in 2024 told the New York Times<\/a> that she \u201chad to make quick decisions under pressure, and in business I\u2019ve found that trusting one\u2019s self, even when there\u2019s uncertainty, is crucial.\u201d<\/p>\n

Murray reflected on a dynamic which is essential to tennis, but lesser-seen in business. The player is tasked with being the boss \u2014 often long before they are really ready.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt\u2019s something I actually really struggled with in my career \u2014 particularly early on,\u201d Murray said.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe dynamic of a young person supposed to be leading a team \u2026 It\u2019s just bizarre in tennis and you\u2019re not really equipped with the skills to do that at a young age. You learn a little bit as your career goes on but it is difficult.\u201d<\/p>\n

Andre Agassi<\/a>, who has invested heavily in areas like education and pickleball, said in a recent phone interview that \u201cthe biggest overlap would just be the problem-solving nature of it.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe have to solve problems when we\u2019re out there, and we usually have to do that alone. As a result, I think you build a muscle that allows you to be objective about certain weaknesses and strengths in anything you get involved with.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cI would definitely agree with the problem-solving side of things because the vast majority of businesses take time,\u201d Murray said.<\/p>\n

\u201cYou have to learn from mistakes and always be looking to improve. And as an athlete you spend your whole career, well the best ones do, doing that.\u201d<\/p>\n

\"Andy<\/p>\n

\n Andy Murray has added Hylo\u2019s running shoes to his extensive investment portfolio. (Courtesy of Hylo)<\/p>\n

Murray is yet to speak to Federer about this iteration of their rivalry, but the pair most recently played golf together in Dubai when they were both on family holidays. Murray said he probably won on the day, before deadpanning that \u201che\u2019s not playing like six hours a day like I am. He\u2019s got a lot more going on in his life than I do.\u201d<\/p>\n

Murray, Federer and their other two main rivals, Rafael Nadal<\/a> and Novak Djokovic<\/a>, have all entered the investment world since retiring \u2014 or in Djokovic\u2019s case, playing on. Nadal has invested heavily in hospitality and education, while Djokovic, who Murray coached for six months until last May, focuses primarily on health and wellness ventures.<\/p>\n

But investment and its other avenues, like corporate board membership, still remain secondary to becoming either a pundit or a coach for most stars entering the twilight of their careers. Murray, who spends much of his life in retirement acting either as a child taxi or playing golf and does the bulk of his investment work from his Surrey home on Tuesdays, when his local club is closed, remains intrigued but guarded about those two avenues.<\/p>\n

\u201cI think at some stage I probably would (consider a return to coaching),\u201d Murray, who was part of Djokovic\u2019s team during the early part of last season, including at the Australian Open said. He has had opportunities since, but having not wanted to become a coach so soon after playing, receiving an offer too good to turn down from the 24-Grand Slam champion only deferred some time fully detached from the sport that he always wanted to have.<\/p>\n

\u201cMy priorities are lying elsewhere just now, but I would do it again in the future,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n

\u201cI do like the idea of helping a much younger player, a little bit like \u2014 not that I would expect it to turn out like this \u2014 the (Juan Carlos) Ferrero-(Carlos) Alcaraz relationship. A younger player that you\u2019re really able to help and have a really positive influence on. I would find something like that quite interesting but certainly not right now.\u201d<\/p>\n

Murray\u2019s caution extends to analysis and television work.<\/p>\n

\u201cMy feeling is that punditry in general, particularly when you have a name within the sport, is quite easy,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n

\u201cThere are some people that are very good at it. Jim Courier and Andy Roddick were great at the game, but also love the game and are very well researched and speak really, really well and are very passionate about it. And do the job extremely well. They\u2019re not just turning up because they\u2019re getting paid and just throwing out random comments, having not really watched the players and not really thinking much about what they\u2019re saying.<\/p>\n

\u201cSo it can be done extremely well, but I don\u2019t think that\u2019s always the case. And I think tennis needs to sort of improve the way that they do punditry but it\u2019s not something that right now I\u2019m massively into doing. I wouldn\u2019t rule out doing it in the future, but I don\u2019t really want to do it right now.\u201d<\/p>\n

Murray still follows the sport, but didn\u2019t hit a tennis ball for nine months after splitting with Djokovic. He only did so again a few weeks ago for a promotional activity, testing out rackets from tennis\u2019 different eras. \u201cI hadn\u2019t completely lost it, which was nice,\u201d he said with typical understatement, before returning to the connection between the sport that defined his first career and the business that is, at least for now, defining his second.<\/p>\n

\u201cI guess it\u2019s that journey of seeing a company grow and improve, supporting a company at the beginning and seeing them turn into something good or great,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt\u2019s not straightforward. Not every investment you make is successful. There are ups and downs, a bit like in a sporting career.\u201d<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"When Andy Murray was weighing up his latest investment, he didn\u2019t leave anything to chance. After the usual…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":578037,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[442],"tags":[49,48,569,9045,82,575,593],"class_list":{"0":"post-578036","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-tennis","8":"tag-ca","9":"tag-canada","10":"tag-culture","11":"tag-global-sports","12":"tag-sports","13":"tag-sports-business","14":"tag-tennis"},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/578036","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=578036"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/578036\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/578037"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=578036"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=578036"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=578036"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}