The off-court tennis world can be pretty complex at times, and Andy Murray‘s announcement of a new coach seems to have stirred up the media to bombard him with questions following his appointment of former women’s No. 1 player, Amélie Mauresmo, as his coach.

You may not think that it’s a big deal in 2014 to have a female coach, but apparently the tennis reporters do. Gasp.

Roger Federer has hired Stefan Edberg, Novak Djokovic has hired Boris Becker, and Kei Nishikori has hired Michael Chan, so when questioned about why Murray picked Mauresmo, the 27-year-old said that it just felt right after being coached by his own mother growing up, and he needs someone like Mauresmo on his side.

For me, it didn’t feel like a strange thing to do just because I grew up with a female coach

I found that, you know, with my mum especially, that she listened extremely well, and that was something that I felt right now that I needed, you know. I’ve started to listen to my body a lot more because over the years you start to pick up some things. And I think it’s important that the people you work with respect that and understand and listen to, you know, how you’re feeling as well because you can’t be pushed extremely hard every single day.”

Murray has been without a coach since parting ways with Ivan Lendl in March.

Amélie Mauresmo

[source: BBC via New York Times]