A unique piece of tennis history is set to be auctioned off for charity by Andy and Kim Murray.
A tennis ball, which has been signed by both Andy Murray and Fred Perry, is set to become the only piece of memorabilia on the open market which bears the signatures of the last two British winners of the men's singles championships at Wimbledon.
The white ball, which is so priceless auctioneers have been unable to put a value to it, is one of a set of three which was gifted to the Scot by tennis fan Gail Sargeant, a tennis fan and lifelong player who saw the Scot's potential and decided to pass them on to 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 and St James Hospice in Wivelsfield, Sussex. When the balls resurfaced in the Murray family home in 2013 following his historic Wimbledon victory, the Scot promptly signed them, instantly creating three unique items of memorabilia. While he and Kim have kept one for themselves, the other has been bequeathed to the Wimbledon museum.
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, choosing 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. "I am incredibly grateful to Gail for the gift she gave me all those years ago," said Murray. "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."
Colin Burgess, chief executive of St Peter & St James Hospice, said: "We are so grateful to Kim and Andy Murray for their generosity and support. There are fantastic prizes in the draw and I hope people feel encouraged to buy raffle tickets for this 'one in a lifetime' opportunity." The raffle, which is available to enter at www.raffleplayer.com/andymurray will go live online on the 10th of June and will run all the way through to the end of the grass court season. Tickets are just £1 each with the winning ticket being drawn on the day of the Wimbledon final, the 12th of July.
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