Princess of Wales writes personal message to athlete

The Princess of Wales shared a personal message for the tennis player Andy Murray Her Wimbledon career came to an end this weekend. “An incredible Wimbledon career comes to an end. You should be very proud @andy_murray,” Her Royal Highness wrote on social media. “On behalf of all of us, thank you!” The royal signed off the message with a “C” for Catherine.

Andy was supposed to play mixed doubles with Emma Raducanu on July 6, but she eventually withdrew. Andy appeared emotional on July 4 as he spoke on Centre Court with Sue Barker after her final match at Wimbledon.

“It’s tough because I’d like to keep playing, but I can’t,” he told Sue. “Physically, it’s too tough now. All the injuries, you know, they’ve been piling up and like I said, they’ve not been insignificant.”

“I want to play for the rest of my life. I love this game,” Andy continued. “It’s given me a lot of things, it’s taught me a lot of lessons over the years that I can use for the rest of my life. But yeah, I don’t want to stop, so it’s tough.”

Andy won his first Wimbledon title in 2013, and his second in 2016. The Princess of Wales has been patron of the All England Lawn Tennis and Croquet Club since 2016.

Catherine, who has been undergoing preventative chemotherapy since late February, has yet to make an appearance at Wimbledon this year. Chairwoman of the All England Club Debbie Jevans The club have previously told Telegraph Sport that they hope the Princess of Wales will be able to present the trophies as club patron, but noted that Catherine’s health and recovery are the priority.

“We don’t know what we don’t know. All we’ve said is we’ll work with her and give her as much flexibility as we can,” Debbie said. “I don’t know who would present the trophies as an alternative – it’s something to consider as we approach the moment if necessary. We’re remaining flexible. When we hear the news, we’ll then consider what the right thing to do is.”