Wimbledon hope to have Murray statue ready by 2027
The All England Club is set to recognise Sir Andy Murray's contribution to tennis with a statue of him at Wimbledon.Murray ended Britain's 77-year wait for a men's singles champion at Wimbledon with a memorable victory over Novak Djokovic in 2013, and triumphed again at SW19 in 2016 when he beat Milos Raonic.Former Wimbledon chief executive Richard Lewis told BBC Sport in 2019 the club would honour Murray with a statue when he finished playing.The Scot retired from professional tennis in August 2024 following an appearance at the Olympic Games in Paris.Debbie Jevans, chair of the All England Club, told the Ainslie + Ainslie Performance People podcast, external it is now in discussions with 38-year-old Murray to make good on the promise and hoped to have the statue in place by 2027."We are looking to have a statue of Andy Murray here [at Wimbledon] and we're working closely with him and his team," Jevans said."The ambition is that we would unveil that at the 150th anniversary of our first championship, which was 1877. He's got to rightly be very involved in that and he and his team will be."A bronze statue of Fred Perry, the last British men's champion before Murray, was erected at Wimbledon in 1984 to mark the 50th anniversary of his first singles championship.Jevans said Murray would be equally deserving of being immortalised having provided "special" moments in the club's history."Now he's retired, we're very much looking at how we can embrace him, for him to be a part of the club in the long term," she added."We looked at Rafa Nadal having that sort of plaque unveiled to him at Roland Garros which was all very special. We thought, what do we want for Andy?"
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
BBC News
27 minutes ago
- BBC News
Gossip: Sunderland offer contract to Mandava
Sunderland have offered Reinildo Mandava a two-year contract worth £65,000 a week following the 31-year-old Mozambique left-back's release by Atletico Madrid. (Guardian), externalSunderland are among several Premier League clubs interested in Toulouse's 22-year-old England Under-21 centre-back Charlie Cresswell, who has an £18m release clause in his contract. (Sun), externalWant more transfer stories? Read Monday's full gossip columnFollow the gossip column on BBC Sport
BBC News
30 minutes ago
- BBC News
Gossip: Liverpool consider player deal for Guehi
Arsenal have joined Chelsea, Liverpool, and Manchester United in the race to sign Eintracht Frankfurt's 23-year-old French striker Hugo Ekitike. (Sport Bild - in German, subscription required), externalLiverpool are willing to offer 19-year-old Scotland winger Ben Doak as part of a deal for Crystal Palace's 24-year-old England defender Marc Guehi. (Sun), externalWant more transfer stories? Read Monday's full gossip columnFollow the gossip column on BBC Sport
The Independent
31 minutes ago
- The Independent
British and Irish Lions announce replacement after suffering ‘shocking' Tomos Williams injury loss
British and Irish Lions head coach Andy Farrell concedes it is 'shocking' to lose Tomos Williams for the tour of Australia after a significant hamstring injury. Williams was one of just two Wales players for the tour and is now set to return to the UK on Monday after sustaining a blow in the second of his two impressive tries in the big win over Western Force on Saturday. And the injury is set to sideline Williams for the 'medium to long term,' with Ben White called up as his replacement. The Scotland international will come over from New Zealand on Monday, with compatriot Blair Kinghorn also joining the group after featuring for Toulouse to win the Top 14 final. For Williams, it is a case of what might have been, as the reigning Gallagher Premiership player of the year had been outstanding in his two appearances on tour, placing him firmly in contention for a Test place against the Wallabies. 'It's shocking news for us all. We're not just going to miss an outstanding player – he played unbelievably well and it was some try that he was actually injured by,' Farrell said. 'We're also going to miss the bloke. We have only been together for a few weeks now but his character is everything you want to have in your group on a Lions tour. He's very popular and that makes it a little bit tougher. 'Ben will be devastated for Tomos, like we all are. But at the same time, he's super excited. 'He obviously had ambition to get into the squad – as did many others who didn't get selected – so now he gets his chance.' Williams' withdrawal is partially offset by Jamison Gibson-Park's recovery from the glute issue that enables him to make his Lions debut against the Queensland Reds in Brisbane on Wednesday. Gibson-Park forms a half-back partnership with Finn Russell – a playmaking axis that was the pre-tour favourite to start against the Wallabies. Full-back Hugo Keenan and replacement lock James Ryan will also make their first appearances for the tourists after recovering from their respective calf and quad injuries. Lions captain Maro Itoje returns to the second row after being stood down for the 54-7 victory over the Force, forming an engine-room partnership with Ollie Chessum. The Reds match begins a hectic spell of four games in 11 days leading into the first Test against the Wallabies, also in Brisbane, on July 19. 'Here we go now. This is proper touring. Games are coming thick and fast, so this is the exciting part of the tour for us,' Farrell said. 'We've been outlining to the lads what the weeks are going to look like – not much training, actually, just out there on the field and plenty of mental preparation. 'But if you ask any player, what would they rather do? Be involved in big games, playing for the Lions, or training every day? I know which I'd rather do. 'We see it as a great opportunity for ourselves to be fast-tracking our ambition, our potential as a team.'
