Match point: non-fungibles.

Not letting his recent straight-sets defeat to Denis Shapovalov get him down, tennis legend Andy Murray has today auctioned off an array of collectable memorabilia, fetching himself around $177, 000 in the process. The lucky NFT user scored ownership rights to video content of Murray’s 2013 winning match, tickets to Wimbledon 2022, and a 30 minute tennis session with the man himself on the famous courts.  

The news comes after the former World No. 1 announced last month that he’d be dipping his toe into the non-fungible market, a crypto platform for the buying and selling of videos, images and other pop-cultural collectibles offered up by the star themselves. Unlike its cash-redeemable cousins, NFTs’ work more like a trading token, giving users digital ownership rights to historic content until they’re then traded off for other exclusive ‘moments’ in sport and culture.

Elsewhere in the NFT market, the Nyan Cat meme sold for over half a million bucks, and Twitter’s founder recently auctioned off his first ever tweet for a measly $2 million. Murray’s most recent non-fungible venture will no-doubt add to the blockchain-based markets’ popularity in the wake of the crypto craze. And while the two-time Wimbledon winner admits he doesn’t own any crypto-currencies himself, Murray is nonetheless excited about his financial serve.

“I’m still learning about NFTs but it feels like an exciting area and one I’m sure more athletes and content creators will be getting involved in,” Murray said. 

Until then, Murray is set to defend is double Olympic wins in Tokyo this year.