Andy Murray sees the international appeal of tennis as a show of global unity in the midst of conflict.
Murray was speaking following the recent terrorist attacks in London, which he also referenced on court at the French Open. He pointed to all the different nations represented by the players, and the amount of countries in which tournaments are played.
"I think that's one of the great things about tennis," the No. 1-ranked player from Scotland told press following his fourth-round win. "We all share, you know, locker rooms together, practice courts together. We compete against each other. For the most part, the players get on very well with each other. We travel all around the world. We play in cities all over the world and different continents."
That can help create a common bond, he added.
“We get, you know, fantastic support everywhere we go,” he said. “Yeah, I do think sport—and tennis in particular, because of the nature of it, is such a global sport—it does bring lots of people together from, you know, many different places."
It's also valuable for the players personally, Murray notes.
"I feel lucky that we get to travel around the world," he said. "It's one of the best things about this line of work, or job, or whatever you want to call it, is that from 14, 15 years old I traveled. I have been to South America, I have been to the States, I played all around Europe from such a young age. And I wouldn't have had the opportunities to do that otherwise. It's one of the things that's really nice about our sport."
More than 200 nations compete in the sport's Davis Cup and Fed Cup team competitions.
Holding Serve with Roger Federer will air on Thursday, June 8th at 2 p.m. ET, only on Tennis Channel.