Andy Murray just made a very good point about the new Wimbledon poster and its depiction of female players.
The famous tennis ace – who has won the Wimbledon grand slam twice – called out the new advert for this year’s championship this week because it seemed to push the (very talented) female players to the back of the image.
The animated picture from the official All England Club was released last week, and shows 15 tennis rivals walking down a staircase of the All England Club.
Italian Jannik Sinner and Spaniard Carlos Alcaraz lead the crowd of players– despite neither of them ever winning the grand slam – following by the top players – Novak Djokovic, Roger Federer and Rafael Nadal, all of whom have won the Wimbledon title several times.
Legends of the game, Chris Evert and Martina Navratilova can be seen in the top 11 players but behind a gaggle of men, while Serena Williams (who has an impressive 23 Grand Slam victories under her belt) walks down the stairs with her sister Venus, very near the back of the crowd.
The caption reads: “At Wimbledon, we’ve witnessed epic rivalry after epic rivalry, lifting the sport to new heights.
“Here’s to the next generation of headline acts...”
Murray himself isn’t in the poster – but that wasn’t his main complaint when he was asked about it at a press conference after playing the Giorgio Armani Tennis Classic this week.
Speaking out shortly before Wimbledon begins on July 3, he told reporters: “It was a disaster wasn’t it? I don’t need to elaborate any more on it, it’s pretty obvious if you see the poster.”
Asked about how four of the front five groups are men, Murray said: “That was what was slightly strange.
“I guess the players that are on the poster are ones that have had incredible careers and have been unbelievably successful at Wimbledon.
“But elsewhere are some of the greatest players of all time.
“For me, Alcaraz and Sinner are unbelievable players, but it just seems strange that they were all sorts of behind them.”
He said he doesn’t “really care” that much but he can see why why “it does look a bit strange”.
During the press conference at the Hurlingham Club, he clarified: “Me not being on it is certainly not a problem.”
Murray has also spoken out about the lack of equality across tennis before, once saying that “the level of sexism is unreal” within sport and describing himself as a feminist.
In 2017, he also called out sexism in Wimbledon after world number one Angelique Kerber and French Open champion Jelena Ostapenko had to play on the outdoor courts for their matches, instead of the Centre Court or Court No.1.
Murray’s brother Jamie, a fellow tennis player, criticised the poster on Instagram, but focused on a different aspect of the image. He asked: “Where’s Andy Murray?”
He later told reporters that he thought it was disrespectful to his brother, because he was “part of the big four for ten years”.
But, illustrator Grant Gruenhaupt replied to Jamie Murray on Instagram, and said: “Worry not Jamie, there are more paintings on the way.”
Murray’s uncle Niall Erskine also tweeted in response to the illustration, saying: “Appalling at every level, all about the men in the forefront and your own British history maker nowhere to be seen, You should be ashamed of yourselves.”