Two-time Wimbledon champion Andy Murray has described Wimbledon’s new promotional poster as “a disaster”.
The poster was aimed as a tribute to a number of tennis greats ahead of the tournament beginning next week, featuring 15 famous players walking down a staircase. However, the painting has received much backlash after fans noted the placement of female stars such as the Williams sisters, the omission of Murray, and the inclusion of youngsters Carlos Alcaraz and Jannik Sinner.
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… pic.twitter.com/Lq9J2qVQEn
— Wimbledon (@Wimbledon) June 20, 2023
While Alcaraz and Sinner have emerged as rising stars, neither has won a Wimbledon title. Yet, they were placed at the forefront of the poster, followed by Murray’s long-time competitors Novak Djokovic, Roger Federer and Rafael Nadal.
Six women are depicted in total, with only Chris Evert and Martina Navratilova among the 11 most prominent players. Serena Williams – who has won 23 Grand Slam tournaments – is seen at the back of the group with her sister, Venus.
Murray is notably absent from the poster but has called Wimbledon out for the positioning of the female players in the poster.
“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,” Murray told Independent.
Yesterday Andy Murray described Wimbledon’s controversial artwork featuring tennis’s greatest rivalries as “a bit strange” – but not because he was omitted from it.
The women being relegated to the back of the image was the problem, he said:https://t.co/5jX8PkNus5
— Molly McElwee (@molly_mcelwee) June 29, 2023
When asked about four of the front five groups of rivals in the poster being men, he continued: “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.”
The Wimbledon main draw will begin on 3 July.