The official opening ceremony of the Arena named in honor of three-time Grand Slam winner, two-time Olympic champion and former world number one Andy Murray took place in London.
The ceremony was held as part of the start of the WTA-500 grass tournament. The official opening of the Arena began with the showing of a video dedicated to the British player's memorable moments at the tournament, where he made his debut in 2005.
Fans and ball kids then formed a corridor of honor as Andy Murray took to the court, made a speech and played a mini-match.
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. It’s cool, this tournament and this court has had many special moments for me. I’m very grateful and thankful for whoever it was who decided to name the stadium this was.
The first official match at the Andy Murray Arena was a match between Beatriz Haddad Maia of Brazil and Petra Kvitová of the Czech Republic, which ended 2-6, 6-4, 6-4.
Earlier, Serbian tennis player Novak Djokovic announced the end of working with Andy Murray, who was a member of his coaching staff for the last six months.
In related news, the British tennis player recently said that the game of Spaniard Carlos Alcaraz makes him smile.
