‘A true British great’: Prime Minister leads tributes to Andy Murray

Prime Minister Sir Keir Starmer led the tributes to Sir Andy Murray after his tennis career ended with defeat in the quarter-finals of the Olympic men’s doubles.

Twenty-one years after his first professional match, Sir Andy’s hopes of a medal-winning swansong evaporated in a 6-2 6-4 loss to American third seeds Taylor Fritz and Tommy Paul alongside his doubles partner Dan Evans.

Shortly after the defeat, Sir Andy jokingly posted on X: “Never even liked tennis anyway.”

The tennis great also changed his X bio immediately after the match from “I play tennis” to “I played tennis”.

Following the result, Sir Keir Starmer took to X to lead tributes to the Scotsman: “1 Davis Cup, 2 Olympic golds and 3 Grand Slams.

“But more than that, thanks @andy_murray for two decades of phenomenal entertainment and sportsmanship.

“A true British great.”

Scotland’s First Minister John Swinney said: “Sir Andy Murray is Scotland’s greatest ever sportsman, and his achievements during one of the toughest eras in tennis history will mark him down as a true sporting legend.

“The whole of Scotland is so proud of Sir Andy and while we are disappointed that we will no longer get to see him compete with his trademark fighting spirit, we thank him for the incredible memories he gave us over so many years and wish him the very best for his well-earned retirement.”

London mayor Sadiq Khan also posted a social media tribute: “Andy Murray until the end. Thank you for the skill, the courage, the joy, the memories – and the drama.”

Presenter and author Greg James posted on X: “It’s going to be awful having to watch tennis and not feel sick to your stomach isn’t it.

“Thank you Andy Murray – it’s been, at times, a complete nightmare but I wouldn’t change any of it. I don’t even want to debate it, he’s our greatest ever sportsperson.”

Comedians Dara O Briain and Shaparak Khorsandi also shared tributes.

“Sad to see Andy Murray finish playing, after a brilliant career,” O Briain said.

Khorsandi  said she hoped “Andy Murray understands how amazing he is”.

The Scotland National Football Team wrote on X: “Thanks for the memories, Andy Murray. All the best in retirement – you’re welcome at Hampden Park any time.”

Murray’s mum, Judy Murray, shared a photo of her son at the age of five during his first tennis match.

The sportsman, who was born in Glasgow and grew up in Dunblane, Stirling, won gold at the London Olympics in 2012, before winning his first of three grand slams at the US Open the following month.

He became the first British Wimbledon men’s singles champion in 77 years when he won at the All England Club in 2013, before going on to win the tournament a second time in 2016.

He then became the only man to win two Olympic gold medals in the singles when he topped the podium in Rio in 2016.

His career was derailed by a chronic hip injury, and over the last few years he has struggled to achieve the levels that saw him become world number one in 2016.

At the start of 2024 he indicated that he planned to finish at some point over the summer but had been vague as to the exact date until he announced last week that the Olympics would be his last tournament.