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Picture News - February

PDF icon 4th February 2019

What’s going on this week?
British tennis player, Andy Murray has been beaten in what might have been his last ever match. He lost in five sets to Roberto Bautista Agut in the Australian Open first round. Speaking about the match, Murray said "If this was my last match, it was an amazing way to end. I gave everything I had - it wasn't enough tonight." Murray had hoped to carry on playing until this year's Wimbledon, but after struggling to recover from hip surgery he said he may not be able to play through the pain and would have to stop sooner. Andy has won 45 titles during his career.

This week’s news story: http://bit.ly/2FJNT7C

This week’s useful video: http://www.bbc.co.uk/sport/tennis/46833018

Main question:
Is there a time when giving up is the right thing to do?
Listen, think, share

  • Look at the poster image and talk about what we know about tennis player Andy Murray and his achievements over his career. How do we think he is feeling about the prospect of having to retire from tennis due to injury?
  • Andy’s mother Judy, 59, revealed she is "incredibly sad" that her son is being forced to hang up his racket after battling a painful hip injury. It comes as 50 fans backed him to go all the way in Melbourne, during the recent Australian Open despite his injury announcement. But some of Andy’s doctor’s have said continuing puts extra pressure on his injury, potentially leading to long term damage. Do you think considering his future career and victories is worth the risk of injury? Do you think he will feel more pressure because of his previous successes or do you think these should allow him to bow out at the top of his game with lots of successes to look back on?
  • A traditional Japanese saying is: ‘Failure teaches success’. Do you think this applies to this situation in any way? Do you think if we dwell too much on the past, we are at risk of not moving forward? Do you think Andy Murray should consider a potential forced retirement a failure in any way?
  • Andy is thought to have worked incredibly hard at his sport and is thought to be very committed. When he was younger, he turned down trials at Rangers Football Club to focus on his tennis career and made the decision to move to Barcelona at the age of 15 to pursue better training – a commitment that paid off as from an early age he enjoyed greater and greater tennis success. When he reached his first final at Wimbledon, against the Swiss player Roger Federer, he took the first set, but then lost the next three. Famously, he shed tears on losing this match. “Wimbledon last year was the hardest loss of my career,” he said in the aftermath of the match. “I was emotional afterwards, and I responded really well… As soon as I was back on the practice court, I felt really good about my game.” How much do you think Andy’s attitude has contributed to his successes?
  • What other sacrifices do you think Andy Murray may have made during his life to achieve the successes he has?


Further questions for discussion

What do you think Andy should go on to do next? Do you think he can influence a future generation of tennis players?
Have you ever regretted giving up when something was challenging?
Can you think of a time when giving up was the right thing to do in that situation?