Scepticism hits you quicker than an Andy Roddick serve when you hear Sir Andy Murray has a new YouTube channel.
Together with brother Jamie, Andy launched “The Set” during the week before Wimbledon, when they cannily collaborated with social media megastar KSI for the first video.
So far, so Gen Z. Partnering with a YouTube behemoth, who has 18.6m subscribers on his channel, was a sign the Murrays “get it”, although in reality that is down to Prodigy Studios, their production team also behind channels featuring ex-cricketer Kevin Pietersen and golfer Ian Poulter.
Nevertheless, savvy producers are only as good as their presenters, and this was a bold step for the Murrays, particularly after Andy criticised traditional tennis coverage.
“I just have always found tennis commentary and coverage to be quite down the middle. I don’t necessarily find it that interesting or that insightful,” he told The Telegraph.
“It’s not something that I really fancy doing, unless it was done in a very different way, and I don’t necessarily think that would happen at Wimbledon.”
The timing of this interview, when The Set launched on 25 June, poured water on Murray’s possible BBC return, seven years after his last appearance in the Centre Court commentary box, when he wryly signed off: “Well, that was horrific.”
The big question: is it any good?
KSI brings energy to the first full episode (Photo: The Set)The recently retired Jamie was not put off by his brother’s experience, largely providing analysis from a bunker as the BBC attempted to revamp their coverage this last fortnight, but on YouTube the Murrays have space to breathe and be themselves.
For those not aligned to Andy’s dry sense of humour, that carries little appeal, and though cynical about whether tennis content has cut-through, I may have just been served humble pie.
Maybe expecting to hate the first episode with KSI is what surprised me, but the Murrays are naturals in front of the camera and weirdly it is their guest who seems the most wooden, largely down to a boyish trait of always trying to think about the next joke.
It felt like an act – not recognising Serena Williams and mistaking Will Smith for… Rafael Nadal – but the infectious laugh is redeeming.
The greater entertainment though was seeing the Murrays relaxed and undeniably in their element. They were, after all, on a tennis court, and as Andy had said, clearly more comfortable when not looking straight down the camera.
Have the Murrays just forged a new path?
The Murrays try old rackets in the second episode (Photo: The Set)Just as wooden were the rackets the brothers tried in the next episode, and you would be hard-pressed not to laugh.
Testing 100 years of rackets, the pair break strings with ease, Andy is overly generous with his rating system, while Jamie resents his brother’s accuracy two years on from retirement.
It was a longer but still digestible length of 18 minutes, and having recently reviewed World Cup podcasts – with Gary Neville’s “The Overlap” going on and on and on for 80 minutes – undoubtedly “The Set” would benefit from staying short.
I am among the fifty per cent of British adults who watch something when eating alone – per a 2024 YouGov poll – and the big question is, would I pick “The Set” while perusing my options? Even though I’ve sometimes finished by the time I’ve chosen and the adverts are over?
The answer is a resounding yes, but whether the format has legs – there is an episode coming up where they use alternatives to rackets, including a chopping board and their mother’s autobiography – means the ball is back in their court.
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Succeed, and not only could the sport win some much-needed support, but the Murrays may prove trend-setters if other tennis stars are tempted to follow suit.
Players like Carlos Alcaraz and Coco Gauff spring to mind, and be it after retirement or sooner, their talents would certainly be better equipped on YouTube than any bunker or commentary box.
I will watch this space carefully, having been gladly proved wrong.
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