Andy Murray will play mixed doubles at Wimbledon with Emma Raducanu. The Scot’s representatives confirmed the pair have been granted a wildcard, with Murray looking to maximise his opportunities on his final appearance at the All England Club.
Murray famously played mixed doubles with Serena Williams in 2019, with the pair making it to the third round. The 37-year-old Scot, twice the men’s singles champion, is playing in his final Wimbledon but pulled out of the singles on Tuesday because of a back injury. He is due to feature in the men’s doubles with his brother, Jamie, on Thursday, with the opening round of the mixed held on Friday and Saturday.
It will be a grand slam debut in doubles for Raducanu, whose only tour-level doubles match came in Washington two years ago. The 21-year-old did float the idea of teaming up with Murray two years ago, though, telling BBC Breakfast: “We haven’t actually spoken about it but it’s something we feel we both want to do.”
They have appeared across the net from each other back in the summer of 2020, when a Battle of the Brits event was staged at the National Tennis Centre during the Covid-related hiatus.
Asked following her first-round win on Monday about Murray’s influence on her, Raducanu said: “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 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.”
