Every sporting superstar has a story – but behind many of them is a parent who pushed, prodded and sometimes pressured their child to the very top.
From the tennis courts to the football academies, so-called ‘push parents’ have become an almost unavoidable presence, willing to sacrifice weekends, money and even friendships in pursuit of their child’s dream.
For some athletes, that relentless drive has been the difference between talent and triumph.
For others, the pressure has proved suffocating, with stories of burnout, fractured relationships and the loss of a childhood sacrificed in the name of sporting glory.
It is a dynamic as old as sport itself, but one that continues to divide opinion: Are these parents heroes for their devotion, or villains for demanding too much?
Here, Daily Mail Sport looks at some of sport’s biggest stars who have been forged by their parents – and some of the problems this has caused.
Lewis Hamilton embraces his father Anthony ahead of the Chinese Grand Prix in 2025
Jude Bellingham has often talked about the role his parents played in his rise to the top
The Bellingham Brothers
Jude and Jobe Bellingham’s journey to football stardom didn’t start in the bright lights of Real Madrid and Borussia Dortmund.
It began in the streets of Stourbridge, West Midlands, where their parents, Mark and Denise, instilled a love for the game and a work ethic that would carry both brothers to the top of the game.
Mark, a former non-league striker who scored more than 700 goals in his career, balanced his footballing passion with his work as a sergeant in the West Midlands Police.
Denise, of Kenyan heritage, worked in human resources, but at home she was the steady anchor, organising schedules, overseeing training, and providing the emotional support that young athletes need to thrive.
Together, they created an environment where talent could flourish, but childhood could still be enjoyed.
When Jude made the leap to Borussia Dortmund in 2020, the family adapted to keep him grounded.
Denise relocated to Germany to provide stability, helping him adjust to life in a new country and the pressures of professional football, while Mark stayed in England to support Jobe’s development at Birmingham.
Jude and Jobe Bellingham’s journey to football stardom has been influenced by thei parents
Mark is a former non-league striker who worked in the police force, while Denise was deployed in human resources
Mark held an emotional discussion with Dortmund sporting director Sebastian Kehl after Jobe was substituted at half-time
Speaking to L’Equipe in 2023, Jude said: ‘The relationship with mom and dad is close and gives me balance. I received different things from my parents. They had jobs their entire lives before leading my career. Then I saw how they handled situations, especially since I turned professional.
‘They do such a good job, with no real experience, and I always wonder how they do it. I admire how they could find themselves in any environment and be the best.’
Fast forward to August 2025, and Mark, who also acts as Jobe’s advisor, took a hands-on approach on the opening day of the season against St Pauli after his son was substituted at half-time, leaving both parents reportedly unhappy.
Mark held an emotional discussion with Dortmund sporting director Sebastian Kehl and is said to have sought a meeting with manager Niko Kovac, voicing frustration over both the substitution and the team’s overall performance.
The club has since banned family members from the dressing room area to prevent similar incidents in the future, though Dortmund managing director Lars Ricken insisted the discussion ‘was not a problem’ and confirmed that the situation had been resolved.
Sir Lewis Hamilton: ‘I’m really excited about having my dad as just my dad’
Anthony Hamilton’s influence on his son Lewis cannot be doubted.
The proud father worked as a clerk at British Rail and later supplemented his income with several part-time jobs – including putting up ‘for sale’ signs on houses – to help fund Lewis’s karting career.
Anthony Hamilton with Lewis in the early years of his Formula One career
The father and son walk in the pit lane before the Chinese Formula One Grand Prix at the Shanghai International Circuit near Shanghai in 2007
He also worked to develop his son’s public image, and famously contacted Blue Peter in 1991 to tip them off about a six year-old who was beating the adults in a remote-controlled karting championship.
Unlike many F1 greats Lewis has a modest background, growing up in a council house in Stevenage, so there is no doubt he couldn’t have got where he is today without his father’s support.
Anthony continued as his son’s manager through his early F1 career before 2010 but their relationship was clearly complex and in 2010, Lewis took the decision to publicly sack him.
‘I’m 25 now, and I think it was inevitable there had to be change at some point,’ Lewis told Autosport at the time.
‘I’ve been in F1 for quite a while now and I wouldn’t have been able to do it without my dad. He’s done a fantastic job, but he’s done that job.’
Lewis said he was looking forward to simply being his father’s son, rather than his dad looking after his management interests.
‘What I am really, really excited about now is having my dad just as my dad,’ he added
The emotional share a few words after Lewis’ epic victory at Silverstone this weekend
‘I want to have a manager who can take care of all the stresses and do all the other stuff, and then I want to do dad things with my dad.
‘I want to go for a beer with my dad. I want to go bowling with my dad. I want to go on holiday with my dad. Then I want to be able to say to him: ‘How is GP Prep going?’, and I want to be able to tell him about all the experiences I am having too – but as a dad.
‘I want to be able to have that, and build that relationship. I want my dad to know, and I want everyone to know, he is always going to be my dad. This is us taking a natural progression step.’
Reports at the time suggested the split had led to tensions between father and son, but pictures from the weekend suggest their relationship is stronger than ever.
Judy Murray: ‘I wasn’t a pushy mother’
A permanent presence in the stands during Andy Murray’s matches was his mother, Judy.
The tennis fanatic was the initial coach of both Andy and his brother Jamie until they turned professional, helping trigger Andy’s interest in tennis by taking him to local tennis courts at the age of three.
After qualifying as a coach aged 19, Judy coached many players at regional and national level while working for the Lawn Tennis Association (LTA).
Judy Murray with her sons Andy and Jamie at a London film premiere in 2019
Judy Murray is regularly seen celebrating in the stands during her son’s matches (pictured: she pumps her fists after Jamie and Martini Hingis won the Wimbledon mixed doubles in 2017)
Despite playing an instrumental role in both her sons’ careers, Judy has rejected the perception of her as a ‘pushy’ mother, saying in a 2020 interview that she wouldn’t be labelled as such if she was a man.
She previously told the Mail: ‘I was painted as Tiger Mum, a nightmare parent.
‘But I should never have been made to feel I had to apologise for being there for my kids, or for being competitive. If I’d been a man I would have been lauded and applauded for it.’
Judy insisted that her coaching philosophy was not hard-driving, instead preferring children to play naturally and create their own games, and said her ‘Braveheart-style’ celebrations at matches had been misrepresented as proof she is ‘overbearing’.
The 64-year-old has let the British Fed Cup team as captain in the past, and received an OBE for services to tennis, women in sport and charity in 2017.
Andy’s Wimbledon career ended this week after Emma Raducanu pulled out of their scheduled mixed doubles match due to injury worries.
Judy later took to social media to call the decision ‘astonishing’ but later claimed she was being ‘sarcastic’.
Judy watches on during Andy’s final farewell to Wimbledon on Thursday
Andy’s Wimbledon career ended this week after Emma Raducanu pulled out of their scheduled mixed doubles match due to injury worries. Judy later took to social media to call the decision ‘astonishing’ but later claimed she was being ‘sarcastic’
She was present on Centre Court to watch Andy’s emotional farewell to Wimbledon last Thursday.
A video montage of his career was played on the big screen after the match, leaving the former world number one in tears.
‘It is hard because I want to keep playing, but I can’t,’ the star said on court as Judy watched on next to Andy’s wife Kim. ‘Physically it’s too tough now. I want to play forever. I love the sport.’
Andy has been described as one of Britain’s greatest ever sportsmen after winning three singles grand slams.
Emma Raducanu: I’m lucky to have pushy parents’
She stunned the world in 2021 with her US Open victory, becoming the first qualifier in the Open Era to win a major singles title.
And Emma Raducanu believes she could not have done so without her parents, who she has praised for always pushing her to do her best.
In 2024, Emma revealed that she initially hated tennis and only played because her father, Ion, wanted her to – but she soon learned to love it.
Emma Raducanu at home in Bromley in 2021 with her father Ion after she won the US Open
Emma’s mother Renee Zhai at her daughter’s match against Australia’s Ajla Tomlijanovic at Wimbledon in 2021
The 21-year-old tennis star praised her parents for driving her around to matches and critiquing her performance but admitted that at times she resented them for not allowing her to hang out with friends.
The 2021 US Open winner also revealed that her parents disapprove of her having a boyfriend and her personal life has been put on the back burner as she tries to maximise her career.
The star, who made nearly £10million in 2022, said that while she had sometimes felt ‘resentful’ growing up she is now grateful to her parents for supporting her.
Emma told The Times: ‘At the start my dad forced me into tennis. I didn’t like it, but then as I got older and tennis became more of a priority I was pushing myself.’
She also said that her Romanian-born father and Chinese mother, Renee, grew up under difficult circumstances and instilled in her a stubborn, ambitious attitude.
Raducanu’s father Ion Raducanu watching on at the 2021 Wimbledon Championships
Despite admitting that her parents are ‘so pushy’ Emma said she doesn’t regret their methods
She described her parents driving her to and from tennis tournaments, critiquing her form and suggesting ways to improve and admitted that at times she resented them.
Despite admitting that her parents are ‘so pushy’ Emma said she doesn’t regret their methods.
She added: ‘I’ve seen some great people who I was playing with in the juniors who had way more lenient parents, who were like, ‘It’s OK if you lost,’ and those players don’t play tennis any more, so I don’t blame my parents for it.’
David Beckham: ‘I only got my dad’s approval after hitting 100 England caps’
He may be one of the most famous footballers to walk the planet, but David Beckham had to fight hard for the approval of one person in particular – his father.
The 49-year-old has admitted his ambitious drive came from the desire to please his father, also called David but better known as Ted.
David said he had to wait ‘over two decades’ before getting any approval from Ted for his successful football career, with the Londoner telling him ‘you’ve made it boy’ only after he won 100 caps.
He said he didn’t get the same recognition at any other point in his career despite six Premier League titles, two FA cups, four Community Shields and a Champions League title.
David Beckham with his mother, Sandra, and father, Ted, at the 2023 of Netflix show Beckham
David recently told how he had to wait ‘over two decades’ before getting Ted’s approval
‘It was the moment that we sat at dinner after I’d won my hundredth cap in Paris and he put his arm around me, and said, ”you made it, boy,”’ David told James Corden on his podcast series, This Life of Mine.
The former footballer explained he and his two sisters were raised in a loving home by two ‘hard-working parents’ – but his father always pushed him to do more during his Sunday league football team.
David admitted to be only grateful for his father’s methods, which prepared him – both mentally and physically – for the hardest challenges of his football career.
The star also spoke about his father’s influence in last year’s Netflix documentary about his life.
David said he channelled his father’s advice as he stepped up to take Manchester United’s European Cup-winning corner against Bayern Munich in 1999.
He recalled: ‘I just thought – do what I did when I was a kid, when my dad used to make me do corner after corner after corner and put it in the exact spot he wanted it. If I didn’t he’d kill me.
During the documentary, his father said: ‘Yes, I was hard. But it turned out, I think, to be the right thing’
David said he thought about his father during Manchester United’s European Cup win in 1999
‘He told me that moments like corners at the end of a match can create history.’
David admitted Ted used to be very tough on him as a child and only had the highest expectations of him on the pitch.
He claimed his father’s harshness towards him as a child helped him to better deal with the extreme abuse and backlash he received from fans after being sent off in England’s bitter World Cup defeat by Argentina in 1998.
‘I could handle the abuse from the fans because of the way my dad had been with me,’ he said.
‘I used to hear my mum turn to my dad and say: ‘Stop talking the way you’re talking to him. Stop shouting at him. Stop telling him off. He did well today.’ And dad would be like, ‘He did alright’.’
During the documentary, his father said: ‘Yes, I was hard. But it turned out, I think, to be the right thing.
‘That year made my son grow up into a man.’
