LONDON – Andy Murray’s retirement from tennis remains a mystery that even the tennis player himself is not sure about.
The ATP reported on Twitter about his withdrawal from Wimbledon, but those around the two-time champion at the All England Club stated that they have not made the decision yet.
“Following surgery for a spinal cyst, Andy Murray is sadly out of Wimbledon. Rest and recover Andy, we will miss seeing you there,” tweeted the governing body of the professional tour.
According to the British media The Telegraph, the operation that took place this Saturday will leave the Scot out of the courts for six weeks.
ATP soon deleted the information. It’s their policy not publishing on the basis of media reports, but only after official confirmations and neither the player nor Wimbledon have announced the withdrawal yet. Thus confusion about the future of the former world number one was installed on Sunday, June 23, eight days before the start of the third Grand Slam of the year.
Murray had hoped to play for the last time on Wimbledon’s Centre Court where he won two of his three major tournaments. It was at the ATP 500 in Queens, in his second round match against Australian Jordan Thompson, that he had to withdraw due to severe lower back pain.
“I’ve had to deal with back pain today, yesterday and for the last 10, 11 years of my career, but I’ve never experienced what I felt on the court. I couldn’t move,” Murray said after that match, where he expressed feeling loss of power in his right leg and incoordination.
Spinal cysts are associated with degeneration of the joints in the lumbar region.
Thus, his presence at the Paris 2024 Olympic Games is in serious doubt. One of Murray’s greatest wishes is to be able to play again in one of the most special events in his career: he is a two-time Olympic champion and the only tennis player in history to successfully defend a singles gold medal (London 2012, Rio 2016).
Can Murray find the ideal tournament to say goodbye to tennis?
If he can’t do it on Centre Court or Philippe Chatrier, another option for 2024 is to do it on Arthur Ashe. In New York, he won his first Grand Slam and that is also where he has special memories.
Although Murray’s history with farewells are like a chewing gum that keeps stretching. In 2019 he announced in Australia that he was quitting tennis before serious hip problems, but his desire for competition brought him back to the courts with a metal hip.
Perhaps, at 37, he will manage to endure the never-ending injuries to find more tennis in 2025. Or it is also possible that he may never appear in a tournament again and that Queens may have been his last participation. With Murray you never know.
