Andy Murray and Serena Williams created an all-star team at Wimbledon in 2019 as they entered the mixed doubles.
The pair won two matches at the iconic Grand Slam, before losing to Bruno Soares and Nicole Melichar-Martinez in three sets.
Nevertheless, Murray and Williams captured the imagination of fans during the tournament as they were dubbed ‘Mur-Rena’.
Despite her incredible star-power, Murray actually asked someone else to be his doubles partner before opting for the American.
Ashleigh Barty rejected Andy Murray’s doubles proposal
Speaking to The Telegraph, Murray revealed that former world number one Ashleigh Barty rejected his request to play doubles at Wimbledon 2019.
“I asked her during the French Open and she said no because she is already playing in singles and doubles, so didn’t want to play in three competitions. Of course, I understood that.
“She also said: ‘There’s many better out there than me.’ Then a few days later she won the French Open, so I fired her a message saying I told her she was one of the best – but she still rejected me! It is a shame we can’t play together because I want the best partner possible.”
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Barty teamed with Victoria Azarenka in the Wimbledon doubles, but the pair withdrew ahead of their third round match with Bethanie Mattek-Sands and Danielle Collins.
The Australian was beaten by Alison Riske in three sets in the fourth round of the singles, but her progress at the tournament ensured she kept hold of her world number one ranking.
Barty won Wimbledon two years later in 2021 for the first and only time, after defeating Karolína Plíšková in the final.
Andy Murray’s famous doubles partners
Murray’s single career speaks for itself, but the Scottish star has also racked up some of the most illustrious doubles partners in history.
While his partnership with his brother Jamie Murray is well noted, Murray has also played with some of the biggest singles stars in tennis.
Murray partnered with Novak Djokovic on two occasions at the 2006 Australian Open and again at the Miami Open in 2011.
Djokovic and Murray were beaten by Nenad Zimonjić and Fabrice Santoro in the first round in Australia and they suffered a similar fate to Sergiy Stakhovsky and Mikhail Youzhny in Miami.
The Scottish star also teamed with Grand Slam winner Lleyton Hewitt at Queen’s in 2009 and they picked up a win over Rajeev Ram and Andy Roddick.
Their campaign was ended at the hands of Oliver Marach and Łukasz Kubot in the second round of the UK tournament.
Murray has also teamed with Tim Henman at the Monte Carlo Masters in 2006 and Leander Paes at the Canadian Open in 2015.
