Andy Murray’s passionate defence of his home major: ‘Wimbledon will never be an exhibition’

Wimbledon
Andy Murray talks to the media at Wimbledon

Wimbledon will continue to be one of the most prestigious tournaments in the world and “will never feel like an exhibition” even if no ranking points are on offer, says two-time champion Andy Murray.

Players won’t be awarded any points for competing at this year’s Championships after the ATP and WTA decided to strip the grass-court tournament of ranking points following the All England Club’s decision to ban Russian and Belarusian players on the back of Russia’s invasion of the Ukraine.

Current British No 1 Cameron Norrie suggested the tournament will be reduced to an “exhibition” while four-time major champion Naomi Osaka has hinted that she could skip SW19 this year.

Nine-time Wimbledon champion Martina Navratilova, though, admitted she is puzzled that players would miss the tournament as it shouldn’t be about the points or the money.

And now Murray has also launched a staunch defence of Wimbledon in a series of tweets.


“I follow golf very closely and have no idea how many ranking points the winner of the @TheMasters gets,” he started off on Twitter.

“Me and my friends love football and non of us know or care how many ranking points a team gets for winning the @FIFAWorldCup.

“But I could tell you exactly who won the World Cup and the Masters.

“I’d hazard a guess that most people watching on centre court @Wimbledon in a few weeks time wouldn’t know or care about how many ranking points a player gets for winning a 3rd round match

“But I guarantee they will remember who wins. @Wimbledon will never be an exhibition and will never feel like an exhibition. The end.”

Andy Murray

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