Centre Court at Queen’s will be renamed after Andy Murray following his retirement from professional tennis on Thursday.
Murray’s illustrious career finally came to an end as he and doubles partner Dan Evans were beaten 6-2 6-4 by American pair Taylor Fritz and Tommy Paul in the Olympics quarterfinals at Roland Garros on Thursday.
The 37-year-old Scot, regarded as one of Britain’s greatest sportsmen after twice winning Wimbledon and reaching world No. 1, announced before the Games that he would retire once it was over.
After withdrawing from the singles as he recovered from surgery to remove a cyst in his spine, he and Evans won two rounds of the doubles, saving multiple match points in each, raising hopes of golden final chapter to his career and a fourth Olympic medal after winning the singles in 2012 and 2016 and also claiming a mixed doubles silver medal in 2012.
Queens, a warm-up tournament for Wimbledon, where Murray was a five-time champion, announced the Andy Murray Arena soon after his defeat in Paris.
“Andy is the greatest tennis player ever to come from this country and a giant of British sport,” LTA chief executive Scott Lloyd said in a statement. “His contribution to the game is immense and has bought us all so many moments of pride. He was relentless in his pursuit of excellence and had a single-minded determination to succeed.
“His brilliance on court bought to an end the long wait for a British male singles winner at Wimbledon, brought home Olympic gold and silver medals and he was the driving force behind Britain’s 2015 Davis Cup success.
“Anyone who ever saw him play knows he put his heart and soul into his performances on the court. His incredible work ethic and love for the sport was demonstrated by his repeated returns from injury, when many others would not have had the resolve.
“Perhaps equal to his on-court success was his attitude in championing equality and diversity right across the sport. He is a special role model for tennis in this country and beyond and a unique champion.
“We are proud to name the arena at our tournament at the Queen’s Club after him.”
Murray, in typically self-effacing fashion, posted on social media soon after he had left the court, “Never even liked tennis anyway,” before changing his bio from “I play tennis” to “I played tennis.”
Meanwhile, Serbia’s Novak Djokovic, who Murray met 36 times in a career-long rivalry, led the tributes.
“I have only praise for him, an incredible competitor and one of the greatest warriors the game has ever seen,” Djokovic told reporters after he reached the singles semi-finals. “His fighting spirits will inspire people for generations to come.”
Prime Minister Sir Keir Starmer labelled Murray “a British great,” and said: “1 Davis Cup, 2 Olympic golds and 3 Grand Slams. But more than that, thanks for two decades of phenomenal entertainment and sportsmanship.”
Over the past two decades Murray has been the figurehead of British tennis and for several years was part of the game’s Big Four with Roger Federer, Rafa Nadal and Djokovic.
His first breakthrough came when beating Federer to win the Olympic title in 2012, weeks after losing to the Swiss in the Wimbledon final. Later that year he won the U.S. Open.
In 2013 he ended Britain’s 77-year wait for a Wimbledon men’s singles champion by beating Djokovic – a match that was watched by 17.3 million viewers on British TV.
Three years later, he won a second Wimbledon crown and ended the year ranked world number one. He also led Britain to the Davis Cup title in 2015 and is the only player, man or woman, to win Olympics singles titles at consecutive Games.