Andy Murray will play at least two matches at this year’s Wimbledon after the tournament announced on Wednesday that the former No. 1 in the PIF ATP Rankings will compete in mixed doubles. His partner will be another British Grand Slam champion, Hologic WTA Tour star Emma Raducanu.
Murray and Raducanu have accepted a wild card into the mixed doubles event, which is set to begin on Friday at the All England Club. Murray is also competing in the men’s doubles, alongside his brother Jamie Murray, after withdrawing from the singles draw due to his ongoing recovery from back surgery. The 2013 and 2016 Wimbledon champion Murray has said this year will mark his final appearance at the grass-court major.
Like Murray, Raducanu is a former US Open champion. She shot to stardom in 2021 when she charged to the title at the hard-court major as an 18-year-old qualifier. Raducanu is already through to the second round in singles at Wimbledon, where she and Murray will hope that blending two generations of British stardom can lead to a successful run in mixed doubles.
“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,” said Raducanu on Monday, when several British stars were asked about their reflections on Murray’s standout career. “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.
“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.”
It will be the second time that Murray, a 46-time tour-level champion, has played mixed doubles at Wimbledon. In 2019, he teamed with another former World No. 1, Serena Williams. The pair reached the third round.
Murray and Raducanu’s opening opponents in London will be Marcelo Arevalo and Zhang Shuai., while they have also been drawn in the same quarter of the draw as top seeds Matthew Ebden and Ellen Perez. Australian’s Ebden and Perez begin their campaign against Andres Molteni and Asia Muhammad.
The top half of the draw also features third seeds and defending champions Lyudmyla Kichenok and Mate Pavic, who are seeded to face fifth seeds Sara Errani and Andrea Vavassori in the quarter-finals. The bottom half of the draw is headlined by second seeds Michael Venus and Erin Routliffe. The Kiwi duo takes on Gabriela Dabrowski and Harri Heliovaara in its first-round match.
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