Hints over Wimbledon statue for Sir Andy Murray after he retires

A statue in the grounds of Wimbledon could be on the cards for Sir Andy Murray after he retires as the tennis player weighs up playing singles at the competition for the final time.

Wimbledon CEO Sally Bolton hinted that Sir Andy could join Fred Perry in having a statue somewhere in the grounds at SW19 once his playing career is over.

However, she also seemed to suggest that may not be outside Centre Court.

“You could argue that’s a bit of an obvious location,” she said.

“As we reflect on the shape of these grounds and we think about the potential development over the road, we’ve got time to think about where any kind of physical celebration of Andy’s career might be.

“And, in any event, we’d want to work with Andy on that and he understandably is not ready to have those conversations just yet. We will make sure we get this right because this is for all time.”

It comes after American tennis great John McEnroe called for Sir Andy to receive a statue last week.

Sir Andy was the first British man to win Wimbledon in 77 years when he defeated Novak Djokovic in 2013.

McEnroe was quoted in the i newspaper as saying: “If I was making that decision, I would say absolutely, yes, because that’s a long drought, 77 years.

“He’s absolutely changed the way people look at British tennis. He’s one of the greatest competitors that I’ve ever seen play tennis.

“It would be well deserved, and it’d be awesome, because two of his three grand slam wins were at Wimbledon plus the Olympics. So that would seem to make a whole lot of sense.”

The two-time former champion has yet to confirm whether he will even take part in this year’s singles competition after struggling with a back problem at Queen’s Club which led to weakness in his right leg, resulting in him undergoing surgery last weekend to remove a spinal cyst.

On Thursday, Sir Andy rated it unlikely that he would be able to play singles, with an appearance in doubles alongside his brother Jamie more probable – but he gave a more upbeat assessment at a press conference on Sunday.

He said he expects to decide on Monday evening whether or not he will make a final appearance.

Sir Andy’s fans have been queuing since Saturday for the chance to see the British star play what could be his last singles game at Wimbledon on Tuesday.

Tennis fan Catherine, from Belgium, is first in the queue to see the Scottish player, and has been there since 10am on Saturday.

“I’ll be very happy and sad at the same time, because I know it’s probably going to be the last time,” she said.

The 33-year-old said she has been a fan of Sir Andy for the last 20 years. “I’ve been a fan for a long, long time – since he started really.

“So I really like him, like his playing style. “The way he behaves on court was really appealing because I was quite similar myself.”

Scottish mother and daughter Christine Small, 63, from Peterhead, and Lorna Kennedy, 40, from Dundee, have been queuing to see Sir Andy since 9am on Sunday.

“He feels like one of our own,” Ms Small said.

“He’s done so well and he’s just been so good for the sport.

Ms Kennedy said seeing him will be “emotional”.

“I don’t actually care if he just walks out and plays two games and says ‘I’m done’, I’ve been able to cheer him one last time on Centre Court and that would be enough,” she said.

She said she and her mother feel they understand Sir Andy because he is Scottish.

“We’re Scottish, so we get him,” she said. “He’s really dry, he’s really funny, but he’s also an advocate for women’s tennis.”

She added he is a “good role model”.