Tennis Sculptures

After attending the amazing 2001 final between Pat Rafter and Goran Ivanisevic, I was inspired to create something to commemorate the match. I had only taken pictures of Pat Rafter, so I did not sculpt, or attempt to sculpt Ivanisevic, but chose a serve photo of Rafter to base a sculpture off.

At the time of sculpting I had no further view than giving this first of the sculptures to Pat Rafter. I brought the sculpture with me to Wimbledon in 2002 and Mervyn Hall [Former Head of Broadcast, AELTC] spotted it and asked me to create more. Without Hall’s enthusiasm and support, this idea may have gone no further than this first sculpture.

I started to sculpt the Men’s Wimbledon Champion every year. I had always wanted to also sculpt the Runner-Up, when Andy Roddick made his first final in 2004, I agreed with Mervyn Hall that I would do two sculptures a year.

By 2014, when this tradition ended with the retirement of Mervyn Hall, I had sculpted, Rafter, Hewitt, Federer, Nadal, Djokovic, Murray, & Roddick. The dominance of the Big 4 during this era was very clear!

In 2010, Nicholas Mahut and John Isner played the longest tennis match in history. To commemorate it, I sculpted each of them that year as well as the Champion and Runner-Up. In 2013 instead of sculpting Djokovic as a Runner-Up, I sculpted the Ladies’ Champion, Marion Bartoli.

All the sculptures on this page are between 18-21 inches in height and are available to purchase, please do get in touch if you would be interested in this.

Bronze sculpture of a tennis player with a racket, signed message "To Louise, very very clever!! Love Pat Rafter"

Pat Rafter by Louise Simson, 2001

Roger Federer Sculptures

I was given a position in a broadcast box for the Men’s Wimbledon final. It was from this position that I took pictures to base the sculptures on. Roger Federer was very enthusiastic about choosing and so from 2003 onwards, I always aimed to sculpt the choice of the player.

Federer has six of my sculptures in his collection, the seventh year he won we struggled to find funding for the casting but it remains in wax form at the foundry.

If you are interested in purchasing one of these, or finding out more please do get in touch.

Tennis player preparing to hit a backhand shot on grass court.

Bronze statue of a tennis player holding a racket

Tennis player in action on grass court with racket, wearing white sports attire and headband, with a spectator and a ball boy in the background near a sponsor-branded wall.

Bronze statue of a tennis player poised to hit a ball, set on a brick wall with lush green plants in the background.

Tennis player in white outfit preparing to hit a forehand on a grass court.

Tennis player in white outfit preparing to hit a yellow tennis ball near the net with a racquet.

Bronze tennis player statue holding racquet against sky background

Tennis player in a white outfit preparing to hit a backhand shot on grass court, with a match official standing in the background.

Silhouette of tennis player statue against cloudy sky

Rafael Nadal

Sculptures

Rafael Nadal first received a sculpture in 2006 as a runner-up. This first photograph was chosen by me, after receiving a selection of a few from his father and Carlos Costa.

The second sculpture in 2007, in a serve position, was also as a runner-up. In this one, by leaning the sculpture back further than life, more energy was created in the sculpture.

The third sculpture in 2008, preparing for a backhand smash, was chosen by Nadal’s father the year before. Unfortunately this sculpture was unable to be cast due to the financial crisis hitting. The sculpture would need to be repaired before being cast but is available, it is a classic Rafa shot.

The photograph for his winning sculpture in 2010 was selected by a professional tennis coach and friend of mine.

The final Nadal sculpture was in 2011, his final year as a Wimbledon runner-up also remains in wax only, it is a shot that only Rafa Nadal can execute.

Tennis player serving on a grass court wearing white outfit and headband.

Bronze tennis player statue in mid-swing on a rooftop near a tennis court.

Rafael Nadal, 2007 Runner-Up by Louise Simson

Tennis player kneeling and preparing to hit a forehand shot on a grass court, wearing a white headband and tennis outfit.

Rafael Nadal 2006 Runner-Up Sculpture by Louise Simson

Clay statue of a person with a tennis racket on a wooden base

Tennis player jumping for a shot near the net during a match, wearing a white outfit and headband.

Rafael Nadal, 2008 Champion by Louise Simson

Clay sculpture of a tennis player in an action pose, held by support structures, with a colorful painting in the background.

Tennis player in white outfit hitting the ball on grass court.

Rafael Nadal 2011 Runner-Up Sculpture by Louise Simson

Clay sculpture of a person wearing a headband

Novak Djokovic Sculptures

There are two Djokovic sculptures in the collection. This first from 2011 is from his first Wimbledon title.

The next in 2014 was from his second Wimbledon title. It was decided to not make one when he was a runner-up in 2013 as he wouldn’t be interested in any prize for second!

Tennis player hitting a forehand stroke on grass court

Clay sculpture of a tennis player swinging a racket

Person holding a tennis trophy, standing on a grass court.

Bronze statue of a tennis player in a dynamic pose, extending forward with arms outstretched. Mounted on a circular base.

Novak Djokovic 2011 Champion by Louise Simson

Novak Djokovic 2014 Champion by Louise Simson

Andy Murray Sculptures

The below is the second sculpture of Andy Murray, from his first Wimbledon title in 2013 and is the piece in the All England Lawn and Tennis Museum.

Tennis player in white outfit swinging a racket on a grass court

Bronze statue of a tennis player posed to hit a forehand shot on display in front of a BNP Paribas sign.

Andy Murray 2013 Champion by Louise Simson

Andy Roddick

The first Andy Roddick sculpture was the first made of a runner-up. He and his agent were both very keen for a sculpture and chose this distinctive image of his serve.

The second from 2005, was selected by Andy Roddick, and was a great example of his hand and net skills - something he was rather less known for!

Tennis player in white outfit serving on grass court during a match.

Bronze sculpture of a tennis player in a serve position holding a racket, set indoors against a wooden background.

Tennis player hitting backhand shot on grass court

Andy Roddick 2004 Runner-Up by Louise Simson

Bronze sculpture of a tennis player in mid-swing.

Andy Roddick 2005 Runner-Up by Louise Simson

Marion Bartoli

The idea to sculpt the Ladies’ Champion came about when Djokovic was a runner-up in 2013 and it was decided that he would not want to receive a sculpture as runner-up. Therefore there would be an opportunity to sculpt the Ladies Champion, Marion Bartoli. She was very happy to receive this scupture!

Female tennis player hitting a backhand shot on grass court

Bronze sculpture of a female tennis player in action, holding a racket, on display indoors with a BNP Paribas banner in the background.

Marion Bartoli 2013 Champion by Louise Simson

Nicholas Mahut

This sculpture was to commemorate the longest tennis match between Mahut and Isner in 2010. Mahut wanted a sculpture of him diving and the photo was taken from a newspaper article.

Tennis player diving to hit tennis ball on court

Close-up of a butter sculpture depicting a soccer player with detailed hair and facial features.

Nicholas Mahut from The Longest Match, by Louise Simson

Carlos Alcaraz

When Carlos Alcaraz won his first Wimbledon title in 2023, despite having not sculpted tennis players in 10 years, I was inspired to create a sculpture to celebrate his win, and beginning of a new era. This sculpture hasn’t been cast but a mould is in the foundry and it is available for purchase.

Clay sculpture of a person in dynamic pose

Sculpture of a boy in motion with supporting frame

Tennis player hitting ball on grass court during match with spectators