TODAY, Kim and Andy Murray launched a charity raffle to win a tennis ball signed by Murray and the late tennis legend Fred Perry.
The exceptional prize is the only known piece of tennis memorabilia signed by these two great British Wimbledon champions, and auctioneers have been unable to put a price on it.
The white tennis ball is one of a set of three that was gifted to Grand Slam Champion Andy Murray by tennis fan Gail Sargent.
Gail was a lifelong tennis player and had met Perry on his visit to Maresfield Tennis Club in 1994.
Just over a decade later by coincidence she then watched a young Andy Murray practising at a different tennis club. Captivated by his potential, Gail decided to pass the signed balls on to Andy, allowing him to do with them as he saw fit.
Unbeknown to Andy, Gail was battling ovarian cancer, a battle she sadly lost in 2010 whilst being cared for at the St Peter & St James Hospice in Wivelsfield, Sussex.
In 2013, after years of British tennis heartache had finally been brought to an end, the balls resurfaced in the Murray family home.
Without hesitation, Andy signed the three balls, instantly creating three incredibly unique items of British tennis memorabilia.
In Gail’s memory, and after witnessing firsthand the battles with cancer suffered by his friends Elena Baltacha and Ross Hutchins, Andy has decided to auction a ball for charity.
Andy has chosen the St Peter & St James Hospice where Gail received her specialist care in the last months of her life and which is celebrating its 40th anniversary this year.
Alongside the raffle, Andy and Kim have donated a ball to the Wimbledon Lawn Tennis Museum, to be showcased indefinitely so that the thousands of fans that walk through the gates of the All England Club every year have the opportunity to glimpse a small part of tennis history. Andy and Kim will keep the third ball.
Andy Murray said “I am incredibly grateful to Gail for the gift she gave me all those years ago, 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.”
The raffle, which is available to enter here, will go live online on the 10th of June and will run all the way through to the end of the grass court season.
