Andy Murray donates rare signed tennis balls to museum
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Published 29/06/2015 at 10:31 GMT
Andy Murray has donated a rare piece of memorabilia to the Wimbledon museum ahead of his quest for a second title at the All England Club.
Andy Murray arrives for practice at Wimbledon
Image credit: Reuters
The world number three offered a white tennis ball – now the focal point of a new exhibit – which was signed by himself and Fred Perry.
It’s just one of three balls known to contain both their signatures.
The balls were originally in possession of tennis fan Gail Sargent, who asked Perry to sign them in 1994.
But Sargent was fighting a battle with ovarian cancer and decided to gift the balls to an up-and-coming Murray, who had no idea of her health struggles until her death in 2010.
Murray then added his signature to that of eight-time Grand Slam winner Perry after clinching his maiden Wimbledon title in 2013.
The remaining two balls will go to raffles, with Murray hoping to raise significant funds for cancer.
“I am incredibly grateful to Gail for the gift she gave me all those years ago,” Murray said.
“It didn’t seem right to just keep them hidden away. So many people are touched by cancer, so I’m really hoping we can raise a lot of money with this raffle.”
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