Wimbledon slammed after Andy Murray is left off poster of former champions
Wimbledon SLAMMED after Andy Murray left behind poster of former SW19 champions – with the two-time winner’s uncle calling the stupidity ‘appalling on every level’
- The Wimbledon Twitter account posted the promotional poster on Tuesday
- Fans immediately noticed the absence of two-time SW19 champion Murray
- There was confusion that Carlos Alcaraz and Jannik Sinner were so prominent
Wimbledon has sparked a furious backlash over its promotional campaign for the 2023 championships with a poster of past and current champions that omits Andy Murray.
Members of the 36-year-old Scot’s family were outraged by a prominent artwork for the tournament, which showed a series of players backstage in the clubhouse close to the entrance to Center Court.
The two most prominent characters are the young US Open champion Carlos Alcaraz and, even stranger, his contemporary Jannik Sinner – the promising player from Italy, but hardly an All England Club legend.
In addition, the Williams sisters, who together have twelve Wimbledon titles to their name, are completely relegated to the background at the top of the stairs in the photo.
The image drew the ire of social media, and more particularly those close to Murray, the two-time winner who broke a 77-year drought of British male winners at the tournament in 2013.
Andy Murray’s fans and family members are angry at his absence from a promotional poster for this year’s Wimbledon showcasing past and present champions
The tweet sought to celebrate popular Wimbledon figures past and present
Murray ended a 77-year wait for a British men’s singles champion at Wimbledon in 2013 (left) and won again in 2016 (right)
Murray’s uncle Niall Erskine described his omission from the poster as “appalling on every level”
On Instagram, Jamie Murray, himself SW19 doubles champion, asked ‘Where’s Andy Murray?’
The player’s uncle, Mum Judy’s brother Niall Erskine, said on Twitter: “Terrible on every level, all the men in the foreground and your own British history maker nowhere to be seen. You should be ashamed of yourself.”
It was also pointed out on social media that the women’s legends, such as Martina Navratilova and Chris Evert, have been relegated behind the men.
It seems that the general idea was to promote Alcaraz and Sinner as representatives of a new generation of stars. Wimbledon is running a promotional campaign this year under the title: ‘Always Like Never Before’.
Wimbledon fans were also baffled and angry at Murray’s omission, plus other aspects
“Don’t worry, more paintings are on the way,” replied the illustrator in charge, Grant Gruenhaupt.
The absence of seven-time champion Pete Sampras also raised some eyebrows, while Wimbledon was blind to the danger of seemingly ranking their own past winners in an official campaign.
Asked on Wednesday at the Cinch Championships if he thought it was disrespectful to his brother, Jamie Murray replied: ‘I thought so. I mean, he was part of the big four for 10 years, maybe more.
“Obviously he was number 1 in the world and then he broke his hip, and it’s been a bit difficult for him ever since.
“But he won the singles twice in an incredible tennis era and reached another final. I thought it was a bit of a petty, especially with everything he’s brought to the tournament for so long.
“You know, the whole country likes to get behind on its kind of trip to try and be a champion, but please.”
Jamie Murray (left), pictured with Andy and their mother Judy, was critical of the omission