The All England Club, home of the Wimbledon Championships, has revealed intentions to erect a statue commemorating Sir Andy Murray.
Murray, who secured the men`s singles titles at Wimbledon in 2013 and 2016, concluded his career last year and will be actively involved in the design of the sculpture.
Wimbledon anticipates unveiling the statue in 2027, aligning with the 150th anniversary of the first Championship held in 1877.
Debbie Jevans, chair of the All England Club, confirmed these plans on the `ainslie + ainslie Performance People` podcast. She stated, “We are looking to have a statue of Andy Murray here [at Wimbledon] and we`re working closely with him and his team.”
Jevans elaborated on the timeline, saying, “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 him and his team will be.”
Several notable tennis figures, including legends like John McEnroe and Billie Jean King, had previously publicly supported the idea of honouring Murray with a statue at the prestigious venue.
The Scottish player famously ended a 77-year wait for a British man to claim the Wimbledon singles crown. He retired from the sport following the Paris Olympics in August of the previous year.
Reflecting on past tributes, Jevans commented, “We had a great celebration for Andy when he played his last [Wimbledon] match, which was on Centre Court. All the old players came and they greeted him and Sue Barker interviewed him.”
Comparing different forms of recognition, she added, “We looked at Rafa Nadal having that sort of plaque unveiled to him at Roland Garros which was all very special. But we thought, what do we want for Andy?”
A bronze statue of Fred Perry, the last British male singles champion before Murray, was erected at Wimbledon in 1984, marking the 50th anniversary of his initial singles championship victory.
