A tennis racket famously smashed by John McEnroe during one of his on-court outbursts is heading to auction next month. The wooden-framed Dunlop Maxfly Fort, mangled by the tennis legend in the early 1980s, is expected to fetch between £2,000 and £3,000.
The racket is part of a wider sports memorabilia sale by UK-based specialist Budds. The auction also features an England cap awarded to Paul Gascoigne, an original "This Is Anfield" sign, a 1928 Olympic medal, a tennis racket used by Rafael Nadal, and shirts worn by former footballers Dave Beasant and Micky Thomas.
The two-day live auction is scheduled for 8-9 September, with the entire collection anticipated to generate sales of more than half a million pounds. David Convery of Budds described the event as an "Olympics-league memorabilia sale," noting the high interest from collectors and investors in alternative assets.