Andy Murray apologises to crowd as Queen’s court named after him | Tennis | Sport

Andy Murray returned to the Queen’s Club for the unveiling of the Andy Murray Arena, with the centre court for the WTA and ATP 500 event here being renamed in his honour following his retirement last summer. The five-time singles champion at Queen’s enjoyed a brief hit with tournament director Laura Robson and two youth ambassadors, winning both points with his young partner.

The former world No. 1 shared his gratitude for having a court named after him, then apologised to the fans for his “diabolical” tennis before having a hit. It’s the first time in years that he isn’t playing the British grass swing but Murray admitted he was enjoying being away from tennis.

Before play got underway at the new WTA 500 event at Queen’s on Monday, Murray was invited out to hit the first balls on the renamed stage.

The retired Brit walked through a ball kid guard of honour as he stepped onto the main court at the Queen’s Club, a stage he has played on countless times and that now bears his name.

Addressing the fans who were already in their seats 15 minutes before play got underway, he said: “It’s great. 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.”

The three-time Major winner has still been out on the grass for a different sport. His retirement goal is to become a scratch golfer, and he’s always on the course, though he suffered defeat over the weekend.

Murray added: “So I was playing the club championships yesterday in my local club. I was in the final group and didn’t manage to get it done, unfortunately. I was tied second going into the final day but didn’t manage to get it done.

“I’m spending as much time with the family and kids as I can, life is good.”

While Murray can talk for hours about his new golfing passion, he was back at Queen’s for one specific job, and was delighted to have a court named after him.

“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,” he said.

“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, I don’t know exactly who was responsible for that but thank you!”

Murray’s court was unveiled on day one of the new WTA 500 event at Queen’s. It’s the first time in more than 50 years that the women’s tour has returned to London, and the retired Brit is happy to see the WTA stars in action.

“I think it’s brilliant. I actually just met the last winner Olga Morozova, who actually coached me when I was 12, 13 years so she was the last winner here 52 years ago which is incredible,” he added.

“This court has had many great matches on it, I think it’s a great chance for the women to showcase themselves out here. We’ve got some great players so you’re lucky, you’ll get to see some brilliant matches and I hope the tournament goes well.”

Before the matches got underway, Murray teamed up with a young player named Gloria to play two points against Robson and another youth player, Jay.

“My tennis is diabolical nowadays so apologies for what you’re about to witness but I’ll give it a go,” he told the crowd. But he needn’t have apologised – Robson failed to get the ball over the net on the first point, then Murray hit a winner past their opponents.