Andy Murray unveils plan for 'Andy Murray Live' charity event to 'give back to Glasgow'

All proceeds will go towards Unicef with Murray set to be joined by Gael Monfils, Jamie Murray and Tim Henman

Andy Murray announces plans to host 'Andy Murray Live' to raise money for charity (Getty)

Andy Murray will stage his own charity tennis event in Glasgow later this year. The 28-year-old Scot unveiled plans for “Andy Murray Live”, which will take place at the SSE Hydro Glasgow on 21 September, at a press briefing at Wimbledon.

The event will feature Murray and his brother Jamie as well as Gael Monfils and Tim Henman. Andy Murray will play Monfils in a singles match and will join his brother to face the Frenchman and Henman in a doubles contest. Tickets are going on sale today.

All the profits from “Andy Murray Live” will go to Unicef, the world’s leading children’s organisation, and Young People’s Futures, a Glasgow-based charity. The event will be presented by SSE, which is one of Britain’s leading energy companies.

“I’ve been talking about this for a couple of years with the guys that I work with and my management team and it’s finally come together,” Murray said. “I thought Glasgow was a good place to do it, based on the fact that when we played there during the Davis Cup we had fantastic crowds and I think it was nice to give something back. I was also born in Glasgow.”

He added: “It’s all about giving back to Glasgow and the community there – not only because of what they’ve done in the Davis Cup last year with all of their support, but the support that I’ve had throughout my career from back in Scotland has been fantastic. We don’t have any world-class tennis events up there. We obviously have a lot here and I think having an event like this up in Scotland will be nice. Hopefully it will go well.”

Andy Murray announces plans to host 'Andy Murray Live' to raise money for charity (Getty)

Asked about the choice of Monfils, Murray said: “Gael was always the first person I thought of because of how he plays the game. He’s an unbelievable athlete and a very entertaining guy.

“I know him well. We grew up together. The first time we played each other I was 10 and he was 11. He’s been a good friend of mine and I think he’ll certainly entertain all the fans who come to watch. He’s a great player as well. He’s playing unbelievable tennis this year. It will be a good match.”

Half of the 10,000 tickets for the event will be priced at less than £25. “We wanted to encourage families to come along,” Murray said. “Tennis is known in this country to be a very expensive sport and not all that accessible at times. So hopefully the pricing of the tickets will help with that and a lot of youngsters and families will be able to come along and watch.”

Murray, who hopes the event will become an annual affair, has been a long-term supporter of Unicef UK, for whom he has become an official ambassador. “Andy has raised a lot of money and a lot of awareness for incredibly important causes,” Lily Caprani, the deputy executive director of Unicef UK, said.

The world No 2’s “Andy’s Aces” initiative at the end of last year raised more than £83,000 for the organisation. “He was very moved by reports of children who were fleeing from conflict zones in Syria and other war zones around the world and becoming refugees,” Caprani said.

For more information see www.andymurraylive.com