Andy Murray’s family have been angered by a promotional painting commissioned by Wimbledon chiefs which has omitted the two-time champion.
The 36-year-old is set to feature in what may well be his last ever appearance at SW19 but he is unlikely to be impressed by what his mother, Judy, described as an ‘appalling’ decision.
Murray delivered arguably two of the most memorable triumphs by a British sportsman of the last half a century by ending a 77-year wait for a male singles winner in 2013 and claiming his second title in 2016.
Despite his iconic status, Murray was left out of the picture designed to highlight the emerging rivalry between two of the sport’s young stars, Carlos Alcaraz and Jannik Sinner.
While the likes of Roger Federer, Novak Djokovic, Rafael Nadal, as well as legends of the women’s game such as the Williams sisters, there was no place for Murray much to the consternation of his family members.
At Wimbledon, we've witnessed epic rivalry after epic rivalry, lifting the sport to new heights ✨
Here's to the next generation of headline acts… pic.twitter.com/Lq9J2qVQEn
— Wimbledon (@Wimbledon) June 20, 2023
The artwork was tweeted by the official Wimbledon account, along with a caption that read: ‘At Wimbledon, we’ve witnessed epic rivalry after epic rivalry, lifting the sport to new heights. Here’s to the next generation of headline acts.’
In response, Jamie, Murray’s brother, wrote: ‘Where’s Andy Murray?’. Erskine, the brother of Andy’s mother, Judy, then added: ‘Appalling at every level. All about the men in the forefront and your own British history maker nowhere to be seen. You should be ashamed of yourselves.’
Jamie doubled down on his criticism after playing doubles at the Queen’s Club on Wednesday.
Asked if the apparent snub was disrespectful to Andy, he said: ‘I thought so. Obviously he was No 1 in the world and then he smashed up his hip, and since then it’s been a bit tough going for him. But he won the singles twice in an incredible era of tennis and made another final [in 2012].
‘I thought it was a bit of a slight, especially with everything that he brought to the tournament for so long. The whole country falling behind his journey to try to become the champion, but there you go.”
The artwork was produced American illustrator Grant Gruenhaupt who, in response to Jamie’s post, wrote: ‘Worry not, there are more paintings on the way.’
