Andy Murray has won the 2022 Arthur Ashe ATP Humanitarian Award after donating £500,000 to Ukraine.
The Brit contributed to helping Ukraine gain resources after Russia invaded them back in February.
Murray is a UNICEF ambassador and decided to donate £500,000 to Ukraine as he helped the country financially deal with the consequences of the war.
Speaking in an essay written on the ATP website Murray wasn’t sure initially what he could do to help but said giving money was something that gave him extra motivation for the rest of the year, “A few days later when Russia invaded Ukraine everyone was very worried about what it would mean,” Murray explained.
“When all the images on the news showing what was happening to families began pouring in, it was devastating. Houses were bombed and families were displaced. Young children were affected by this, with many injured and in some cases dying. I wasn’t sure what I could do to help.
“Shortly after I decided that from Indian Wells onwards, I would donate my prize money for the rest of the season to UNICEF’s humanitarian response – the final total was just over $630,000. It seemed like something that would give me some extra motivation this year. I thought I could also raise some awareness and hopefully get others involved in helping, too.
“There are 7.5 million children in Ukraine and after more than nine months of increased conflict, 5.2 million of them are in need of assistance. UNICEF is working around the clock to keep children safe by ensuring child health and protection services are sustained, critical supplies are delivered to families and that children have clean water and nutritious food.
“When you see images of children on the news who were impacted by things like this, that makes it even more difficult to stomach. I have four young children who are really fortunate that everything is fine with them.
“But being a parent, it affects you differently. You try to put yourself in their shoes. If something like that happened with your own family, how difficult would that be? It is hard to fathom. I’m in the fortunate position to try to make some sort of difference, so hopefully the money that’s been raised through UNICEF can help some of the children who have been affected.”
Also in the essay, Murray spoke about the importance of the future generation setting up similar schemes and financially donating to charity.
Murray became an ambassador for UNICEF in 2014 and hasn’t looked back since then, “I think that a lot of the young players who are coming through seem like good guys,” Murray said.
“I’m sure they’re going to be great ambassadors for the sport moving forward. I’d encourage them to try and find some causes that are important to them and mean something to them and to try and give back when they get the chance.”
Speaking on behalf of UNICEF, the chief executive of the UK committee Jon Sparkes praised Murray’s efforts, “Andy’s endless dedication to the role of UNICEF UK Ambassador has seen him support many life-changing fundraising initiatives and advocacy campaigns since he took on the role in 2014,” Sparkes said.
“During this time he has launched his exhibition match, Andy Murray Live in 2016, and donated generously to UNICEF’s work around the child migrant and refugee crisis in 2015.
“I know I speak on behalf of everyone at UNICEF UK when I say a huge thank you.”
This is the second time Murray has won the event, joining the likes of Andre Agassi, Roger Federer and Aisam-Ul-Haq Qureshi as multiple winners.