Murray brothers to play in new 'Battle of the Brits'

Andy Murray will return to action on June 23 as part of a six-day tournament organised by brother Jamie.

Jamie Murray, the seven-time Grand Slam doubles and mixed doubles champion, has helped put on a behind-closed-doors tournament called Schroders Battle of the Brits.

It will see the Murray brothers and the likes of Kyle Edmund and Dan Evans play each other at the Lawn Tennis Association’s Roehampton Base.

The tournament, which will crown singles and doubles champions, will be screened live on Amazon Prime and raise a minimum of £100,000 for the NHS.

With the ATP and WTA seasons on ice due to the coronavirus pandemic, the Battle of the Brits will bring live tennis back to British fans in a month which should have seen the Wimbledon Championships take place.

“The last few months have been incredibly challenging times for everyone and we see this event as our way of giving back,” Jamie Murray said.

“A lot of work has gone in to make sure this could happen and we are very excited to be able to bring an action-packed week of tennis, while raising valuable funds for NHS heroes to say thank you for the amazing work they have done.”

The tournament will run from June 23 to 28 and Jamie Murray added: “I’m really excited to be putting on Schroders Battle of the Brits and for the first time bringing together the current generation of British male players to compete against one another while raising significant funds for charity.

“I am particularly grateful to our broadcast partner here in the UK, Amazon Prime Video, for enabling this event to happen.”

Prior to the lockdown, Andy Murray had been returning to the court after another injury-enforced absence.

The 33-year-old was unable to hit for three months because of what was initially diagnosed as a mild bone bruise.

Murray later believed the problem was heterotopic ossification, bone growth associated with the hip resurfacing operation he underwent in January 2019.

The LTA said it is working closely with Jamie Murray on tournament preparations, subject to Government guidelines as set out under a phase three return to ‘behind-closed-doors’ elite sporting events.

LTA chief executive Scott Lloyd said: “The LTA is looking forward to bringing tennis back into people’s lives this summer and are excited about events like this inspiring fans to get involved in our sport and pick up a racket.”