WIMBLEDON has commissioned a statue of two-time singles champion Sir Andy Murray that will be unveiled in 2027.
For the first time, the All England Club has confirmed that a sculpture is in the works of legendary Murray, 38, who retired last year from playing.
GettySir Andy Murray will be honoured at Wimbledon[/caption]
Darren Fletcher – The SunHe will have a statue erected at the iconic tennis venue[/caption]
Times Newspapers LtdFred Perry is the only player to have had the same honour[/caption]
The Scotsman won the title in 2013 – he beat rival Novak Djokovic in the Centre Court final – and it ended a 77-year wait for a homegrown male winner.
Three years later, the Dunblane star repeated the incredible feat, this time beating Canadian Milos Raonic for a second Championship.
To honour his illustrious achievements, a statue will be a permanent part of the SW19 grounds and is set to go public in 2027, which is the 150th anniversary of the first Championships
Current chair Debbie Jevans revealed the information on the ainslie + ainslie Performance People podcast, which is hosted by former Sky Sports news presenter Georgie Ainslie.
Jevans said: “We are looking to have a statue of Andy Murray here and we’re working closely with him and his team.
“And the ambition is that we would unveil that on the 150th anniversary of our first Championships, which was 1877, so would be in 2027.
“It will be (lovely). He’s rightly got to be very involved in that and him and his team will be.”
Fred Perry was a three-time singles champion before the Second World War and was the last British man to lift the famous trophy before Murray.
There is a ¾ life-sized statue of the Stockport-born player – he died in February 1995 aged 85 – which is situated outside the Debenture Holders’ Entrance.
There are also five head-and-shoulder busts of British ladies conquerors Kitty Godfree, Dorothy Round, Angela Mortimer, Ann Jones and Virginia Wade.
Murray, who had career-saving hip surgery in January 2019, quit the sport last summer after he lost in the doubles competition of the Paris Olympics.
His final match at Wimbledon was a year ago when he lost in the first round of the men’s doubles tournament alongside elder brother Jamie Murray.
Tears flowed as Murray spoke to Sue Barker on court about his career and memories of the Championships as his former rivals came out to pay their respects.
Jevans said: “You always wanted and you always hoped for a British winner. Of course, you do. We are all patriotic.
“Andy had won the 2012 Olympics before here and had that experience on Centre Court.
“And we were hoping that maybe that could help him with winning the Wimbledon title (in 2013).
“When he won it was so special. So special for him, so special for us, as a club.
“Now he has retired we are very much looking to how we can embrace him to be part of the club in the long term.
“We had a great celebration for Andy when he played his last match, which was on Centre Court.
“All the old players came and they greeted him and Sue Barker interviewed him.”
Andy Murray’s career timeline
SIR Andy Murray is Great Britain’s most successful tennis player of the Open era.
After breaking through in 2005 to reach the Wimbledon third round at 18, the Scot was British No1 by the following year.
In 2008 he reached his first Grand Slam final at the US Open, only to fall to Roger Federer in straight sets.
Two more final defeats at the Australian Open to Federer and Novak Djokovic followed in 2010 and 2011 before heartbreak at Wimbledon in 2012.
Despite taking the first set against Federer, he fell 4-6 7-5 6-3 6-4 in front of a home crowd before breaking into tears on Centre Court.
But a month later on the same court he beat the Swiss legend to earn Team GB a gold medal at the London 2012 Olympics.
And weeks after that he broke his Grand Slam duck at the fifth attempt, beating Djokovic in five sets in the US Open final.
In 2013, following another Australian Open final loss, Murray beat Djokovic in straight sets to become the first British man in 77 years to win the Wimbledon title.
Three more losing Grand Slam finals followed, at the 2015 and 2016 Australian Opens and the 2016 French Open.
But in his third Grand Slam final of 2016, Murray won Wimbledon again with a straight sets victory over Canadian Milos Raonic.
He followed it up with his second Olympic gold medal, beating Juan Martin del Potro in a four-hour epic in the final in Rio de Janeiro.
Later in 2016 Murray became world No1 – the first British man to do so in history.
Over his career Murray reached 11 Grand Slam finals, winning three. He won two Olympic golds and a silver (in the mixed doubles alongside Laura Robson).
He finishes his career with 46 titles and over £50million in earnings, making him the fourth all-time leader in earnings.
His final match was at the Paris 2024 Olympics, where he lost in the quarter-final of the men’s doubles at Roland Garros to USA pair Tommy Paul and Taylor Fritz.
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