Kyle Edmund: ‘Andy Murray is my biggest role model’ – British No.1’s tribute to our ‘greatest tennis player ever’

'My biggest role model’ | Kyle Edmund on Andy Murray
Charlie Crowhurst/Getty Images for LTA
Richard Parry11 January 2019

Kyle Edmund has paid tribute to his "biggest role model" following Andy Murray’s announced his impending retirement from tennis.

The two-time Wimbledon champion, who has been struggling to recover from hip surgery, was overcome by emotion as he made the announcement in Melbourne.

Murray, 31, has battled to recover from a chronic hip condition for more than 18 months, and had surgery on his right hip last January before returning to tennis in June.

Reacting to the news, Kyle Edmund, Britain’s current No1 said: "For me he's been my biggest role model out of any tennis player. He's Britain's greatest tennis player ever and you could say maybe Britain's best sportsman ever.

"To be able to have had the experiences that I've had with him and memories in terms of training with him and getting to know him personally and seeing what he's done on the court and achieved, he's definitely helped my career.

"It's obviously not nice to read that he's going to be retiring at some point but, at the same time, it's a nice way to reflect his career, knowing that he's going to be done, and seeing what he's achieved. It's been amazing."

In Pictures | Andy Murray

1/60

Meanwhile, Johanna Konta says she cannot imagine tennis without Murray, as Britain’s top ranking female star paid her respects to the tennis legend, while offering special praise for his role in supporting the women’s game.

Photo: AFP/Getty Images/Oli Scarff
AFP/Getty Images

"I can't imagine the sport without him to be honest,” reflected Konta. “He has just been there all the time."

Murray's support for women and the women's game was also appreciated by British number one Konta, who said: "There have been so many examples of when he has stood up for us - not just for women's tennis but women in general.

"He has also been blessed with two daughters and I think he's grown up with a really strong female role model with his mum and now his wife is also a strong character so he is surrounded by great, strong women.

"He has put that through in the way he has voiced his opinions and the way he has tackled some questions and issues that have arisen and I think everybody has always been very appreciative of him."

Create a FREE account to continue reading

eros

Registration is a free and easy way to support our journalism.

Join our community where you can: comment on stories; sign up to newsletters; enter competitions and access content on our app.

Your email address

Must be at least 6 characters, include an upper and lower case character and a number

You must be at least 18 years old to create an account

* Required fields

Already have an account? SIGN IN

By clicking Create Account you confirm that your data has been entered correctly and you have read and agree to our Terms of use , Cookie policy and Privacy policy .

This site is protected by reCAPTCHA and the Google Privacy Policy and Terms of Service apply.

Thank you for registering

Please refresh the page or navigate to another page on the site to be automatically logged in