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Andy Murray has stadium named after him as tennis icon apologises to fans during unveiling
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ANDY MURRAY was in attendance at The Queen's Club this morning for the unveiling of the 'Andy Murray Arena' ahead of the 2025 HSBC Championships.
A decision was made last summer to re-name the centre court at the historic English venue following the tennis icon's retirement.
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Detail view of the signage of the Sir Andy Murray Arena at The Queen's Club
Credit: Getty
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A general inside view of the venue
Credit: Alamy
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He was given a hero's welcome on the centre court
Credit: Alamy
Murray is a five-time singles champion at the tournament and also lifted the doubles title alongside Spain's Felicano Lopez in 2019.
The two-time Wimbledon champion returned to the court for the first time in a year to commemorate the special occasion.
It's a venue which holds many memories for the Dunblane star, who said when addressing the crowd: "I've obviously missed being out here. First time not being involved in a grass court season in a while, but I've got a new life now and enjoying being away from the sport.
'It's cool, this tournament and this court has had many special moments for me. It's the place, the tournament not the court, where I won my first match on the ATP Tour,
'It was my most successful event; I always love coming back here at the start of the British summer.
"I'm very proud of the results I had here. I'm very grateful and thankful for whoever it was who decided to name the stadium this was.'
He was given a guard of honour by the ball kids as he made his way out onto the court.
Murray was then joined by former British tennis player and tournament director of the HSBC Championships WTA event, Laura Robson, 10-year-old Gloria Pearce from the Queen's Club Foundation and seven-year-old Jay Ikanone from Greenhouse Sport for a quick doubles match.
But before he even picked up his racket, Murray, 38, admitted he was feeling rusty after a year out.
He joked: 'My tennis is diabolical nowadays so apologies for what you're about to witness but I'll give it a go'.
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Murray ended up winning both points with his partner Gloria.
He was then given the honour of doing the coin toss for the first match of the WTA 500 event between Petra Kvitova and Beatriz Haddad Maia.
It was a highly-anticipated match as it's first time in 52 years that a women's event has been held in London.
Haddad Maia came out on top over three sets, winning the second and third set 6-4 after losing the opener 6-2.
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