WIMBLEDON -- Andy Murray and Emma Raducanu will team up in mixed doubles at Wimbledon, the tournament announced Wednesday, a pairing of the two biggest stars of British tennis.
Murray, 37, owns three Grand Slam titles, including from the All England Club in 2013 and 2016. Raducanu, 21, won the 2021 US Open at age 18 and became the first qualifier to claim a major trophy.
Murray withdrew from singles at Wimbledon on Tuesday, a little more than a week after having surgery to remove a cyst from his spine. He is also entered in men's doubles with his older brother, Jamie.
Murray has said this will be his final appearance at the tournament. He is planning to retire after the Paris Olympics, which start later this month.
"I chatted a bit with my team about it [playing mixed doubles] and they said 'what exactly are you trying to get out of it?'" Murray told reporters after a practice session on Wednesday.
"Firstly, we want to be competitive in the matches and then playing with another Brit was going to be something that would be nice.
"She's obviously one of the top British players and she would have been top of the list."
"We'd spoken about it during the COVID year but obviously both of us were doing quite well in the singles and it didn't happen," he says.
"Last night I messaged her coach and asked if he thought it might be something she'd be up for doing. He said it was worth asking, so I did. It was quite late yesterday evening when I sent the message, it would have been after 9 p.m. so I was a bit worried she might have been in bed.
"But I got a quick reply. She said: 'Yeah, let's do it.' That was it."
The All England Club awarded a wild-card entry to Murray and Raducanu in mixed doubles Wednesday. The Murray brothers were given a wild card for men's doubles last week.
Raducanu is scheduled to play her second-round match in singles against Elise Mertens at Wimbledon on Wednesday.
Information from the Associated Press contributed to this report