Andy Murray’s family members question absence of Wimbledon champion on poster

Andy Murray’s uncle and brother have slammed Wimbledon for leaving the two-time champion out of an official poster of past and present greats.

The All England Club posted on its social media channels an image of 15 famous players walking down a staircase.

Under the banner “here’s to the next generation of headline acts”, young duo Jannik Sinner and Carlos Alcaraz – neither of whom have made an impact at the Championships yet – stand in the foreground.

Behind them are a selection of “epic” rivalries including Roger Federer, Novak Djokovic and Rafael Nadal, Bjorn Borg and John McEnroe, Chris Evert and Martina Navratilova and Serena and Venus Williams.

But Murray, who ended Britain’s 77-year wait for a men’s champion in 2013, is nowhere to be seen.

His uncle, Niall Erskine, tweeted underneath the image: “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.”

And Jamie Murray, who has been competing along with his brother at the cinch Championships this week, replied to Wimbledon’s Instagram post with “Where’s @andymurray?”

He added: “Didn’t they talk about the big 4 for 10 years until he smashed his hip to pieces when he was world No 1?”

Speaking to reporters at Queen's on Wednesday, he was asked if thought the move was disrespectful.

“I thought so,” he replied. “I mean, he was part of the big four for 10 years, maybe more. Obviously he was No 1 in the world and then he smashed up his hip, and since then it’s been tough going for him.

“But he won the singles twice in an incredible era of tennis and made another final.

“I thought it was a bit of a slight, especially with everything that he brought to the tournament for so long. The whole country was falling in behind his journey to try to become the champion – but there you go.”

Illustrator Grant Gruenhaupt responded on Instagram by saying more paintings are planned.

Meanwhile, Jamie Murray and partner Michael Venus lost their first-round doubles match at Queen’s Club against Matthew Hebden and Rohan Bopanna in two tie-breaks.

Andy Murray was due to play in the doubles alongside Cameron Norrie later on Wednesday but the Scot, knocked out of the singles on Tuesday, has withdrawn from the event.

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