Wimbledon

Raducanu and Gauff also share their thoughts

July 05, 2024

In the wake of an emotional tribute to Andy Murray following his men’s doubles defeat Thursday evening at Wimbledon, Serena Williams has headlined a group of current and former WTA stars who have praised the Scot for his career and support of women.

“Congratulations to you, Andy Murray for such an incredible career. I have to say, I’ve always enjoyed watching you. One of the main reasons [is] because you were one of the few players who would be more angry than me on the court, which is a hard thing to do. And you may have [had] a little [of] an attitude just like mine, let’s just say,” Williams said, cracking a laugh. “But to me, it was the most exciting thing to watch. And I had the pleasure of playing mixed doubles next to you by your side, which was such a fantastic experience to do that at Wimbledon nonetheless, and it was really one of the highlights of my life.”

Murray and Williams teamed in mixed doubles at The Championships in 2019, when they reached the third round. Serena added that Murray holds a special place in her heart because of how much he speaks out in support of women.

“You were the leader in that and the things you spoke up about, the things you said about myself and Venus, so many things about how we were always so inspiring and what we meant to you, it really went such a long way in my heart and I will always be grateful for that,” Williams said. “I’ll always be grateful for the support you gave myself the support you gave women and the excitement that you brought and bring to tennis. I feel like watching you win Wimbledon and the US Open and those gold medals was so exciting, and I just truly enjoyed it. So I’ve always been such a fan as you already know, and I will always be cheering for you and rooting you on in whatever you decide to do next. So congratulations on such an amazing career.”

Several players joined Murray on court during the tribute Thursday evening, including WTA World No. 1 Iga Swiatek. The Polish star took to X, formerly known as Twitter, afterwards. She wrote: “Andyyy We couldn’t wish for better support for women’s tennis. Thank you for everything, it was a privilege to stand on Centre Court tonight. Congratulations on your amazing career. You are amazing @andy_murray”

^{Photo Credit: Julian Finney/Getty Images}Other women have discussed Murray’s impact during their press conferences this week. Emma Raducanu, another British major winner, noted how much she has learned from just watching his routines.

“I think the biggest advice is just how he’s always taken care of his operations, how he manages his people. I haven’t really spoken to him so much. I think for me it’s just like watching him operate day to day, watching him be absolutely on it with everything. Even in practice now, he’s so on it to the minute,” Raducanu said. “I think me, when I was a bit younger maybe, showing up 15 minutes before practice to do a few arm curls, swing my hand around and warm up, he’s there for an hour and a half doing treatment. He just sets really good examples.”

Coco Gauff said that she recently saw a video on TikTok in which Murray corrected reporters about statistics to ensure they were including women.

“It’s something that as a female player, you’ll see a lot where people will be, like, He’s the first player to do this. It’s like, well, Serena and Venus did it, another player did it ages ago, the first American. I did it,” Gauff said. “I do appreciate him. Not only him but also his mother for everything they’ve done for equality for women’s sports.

“I think his legacy is that he’s just a fighter. The most inspiration I have from him is no matter what court he’s playing, whether it’s an ITF or Centre Court here, he’s putting 100 per cent effort into that. It’s really unfortunate he couldn’t get one last healthy match out here ’cause I definitely think he deserves to end his career in his terms… He’s definitely an icon of the sport. He’s had an incredible career that a lot of people dream of.”