‘A true British great’: Keir Starmer leads tributes to retiring Andy Murray

The prime minister, Sir Keir Starmer, led the tributes to Sir Andy Murray after his tennis career ended at the Olympics, while the Lawn Tennis Association announced they will name the centre court at Queen’s Club after the Briton in honour of his career.

Murray and Dan Evans lost to US pair Tommy Paul and Taylor Fritz in the doubles quarter-finals at Roland Garros, bringing an end to Murray’s final tournament as a professional.

Starmer described Murray, who Wimbledon twice and the US Open once, as “a true British great” in a post on X on Thursday night. Scotland’s first minister, John Swinney, said Murray was “Scotland’s greatest ever sportsman” and thanked him for “the incredible memories he gave us over so many years”.

The LTA moved quickly to announce Queen’s will commemorate their five-times champion by renaming their centre court the Andy Murray Arena.

The LTA chief executive, Scott Lloyd said: “Andy is the greatest tennis player ever to come from this country and a giant of British sport. His contribution to the game is immense and has bought us all so many moments of pride. He was relentless in his pursuit of excellence and had a single-minded determination to succeed.

“His brilliance on court bought to an end the long wait for a British male singles winner at Wimbledon, brought home Olympic gold and silver medals, and he was the driving force behind Britain’s 2015 Davis Cup success.

“Anyone who ever saw him play knows he put his heart and soul into his performances on the court. His incredible work ethic and love for the sport was demonstrated by his repeated returns from injury, when many others would not have had the resolve.

“Perhaps equal to his on-court success was his attitude in championing equality and diversity right across the sport. He is a special role model for tennis in this country and beyond and a unique champion. We are proud to name the arena at our tournament at the Queen’s Club after him.”

Laura Robson, who won Olympics mixed doubles silver alongside Murray at London 2012, kept it simple, saying “What a guy” in her post. Murray’s reach goes far beyond sport and he received praise from comedians Dara Ó Briain and Shaparak Khorsandi, the latter saying: “I hope Andy Murray understands how amazing he is.”

There were also tributes on social media from the French Open, Team GB and the LTA, with the latter calling Murray “our greatest of all time”. Evans, Murray’s doubles partner for his final tournament, told Eurosport that the experience was “everything I thought and more – something I’ll cherish forever.” Judy Murray, Andy’s mother, posted a picture of him playing tennis at the age of five.

But even among the glowing tributes, Murray managed to get the last word, tweeting: “Never even liked tennis anyway” shortly after his final match. He also made a poignant update to his understated profile tagline on X; it now reads “I played tennis.”