Andy Murray at Wimbledon 2023: who is Ryan Peniston? Career highlights ahead of first round vs Andy Murray

Andy Murray will return to Wimbledon once again following a successful beginning to the grass court season which saw him win both the Surbiton Open and Rothesay Nottingham Open earlier in June.

Currently ranked 39th in the ATP rankings, Murray just missed out on qualifying within the top-32 seeds which would have given him a potentially easier run through the first stages of the tournament.

He is instead to face a fellow Briton in the first round of the competition as he takes on Ryan Peniston. These players are two of several British stars who will be heading to the grass in SW19 as the tournament has once again granted wildcards to many lower ranked home talents. Peniston, who is one such wildcard receiver, is joined by Liam Broady, George Loffhagen, Jan Choinski and Arthur Fery in the men’s tournament.

The Ladies’ tournament sees Katie Boulter as the leading British star as she is joined by Harriet Dart, Katie Swan, Jodie Burrage, Sonay Kartal and Heather Watson.

Ahead of Murray and Peniston’s first round match-up, here is all you need to know about the 27-year-old wildcard entry...

When is Murray vs Peniston?

The two will take to the courts tomorrow, Tuesday 4 July, with the match scheduled to start at 3.15pm BST. The winner of the first round match will then face either Dominic Thiem or the world number five Stefanos Tsitsipas in the second round.

The match will be available to watch on BBC with coverage of the second day’s play starting at 9.30am. Head our article on How to Watch Wimbledon 2023 to find out more.

Who is Ryan Peniston?

Peniston, 27, is a British tennis player from Essex having previously reached a career high of 123 in the ATP rankings. He turned professional in 2018 following his graduation from the University of Memphis where he was part of the GB University Team which won the nation’s first ever team gold medal at the Master’U Championships.

In 2020, Peniston first came to prominence after he competed in the ‘Battle of the Brits’ tournament, performing well. He lost only on final set tie-breaks against the top-50 players of Dan Evans and Cameron Norrie.

His first recorded ATP win came in 2022 when Peniston shocked the world number five Casper Ruud at the Queen’s Club Championships. He went on to reach the quarter-finals, defeating another top-50 player Francisco Cerundolo along the way.

Peniston has previously reached the first round of qualifiers for the Australian and US Open; the second round of qualifiers for the French Open and the second round of the main tournament at Wimbledon, a feat he achieved last year. The 27-year-old beat Henri Laaksonen in straight sets before losing to the experienced American Steve Johnson in the second round.

Peniston is currently ranked 267 in the ATP rankings

Murray vs Peniston head-to-head

The two players have never faced each other professionally before. The odds are, however, heavily in Murray’s favour with Bet365 giving Murray odds of 1/10 and Peniston odds of 6/1.