Andy Murray has officially retired from tennis after playing his last professional match at the 2024 Olympics in Paris alongside Dan Evans in doubles.
Murray confirmed before the Games that it would be his ‘last tennis tournament’ and Thursday’s quarter-final defeat meant it was all over.
Taylor Fritz and Tommy Paul beat Murray and Evans 6-2 6-4, with the English duo unable to follow up two rollercoaster victories over Japan and Belgium.
Regarded as one of Britain’s greatest sporting heroes, Murray hung up his racket and capped his career with two Wimbledon titles, two Olympic gold medals, a US Open and a Davis Cup in his trophy cabinet.
The 37-year-old ended Britain’s 77-year wait for a Wimbledon men’s singles title in 2013, sparking an emotional scene up and down the country.
He struggled a lot with injuries in his twilight years, but made a shock comeback with a metal hip and did well to win more silverware.
Murray suffered a nasty back problem at Queen’s Club in June, which required surgery and forced him out of one final appearance at Wimbledon singles, although he had an emotional farewell playing doubles with his brother Jamie.
She had hoped to play Olympic singles, but again, she was unable to fit in as she decided to focus solely on doubles with teammate Brit Evans.
Murray registered a total of 46 career singles titles, which tied him for 15th overall in the Open Era. He is the first tennis player – and the only person in history – to win an Olympic singles gold medal on two different surfaces.
He enjoyed 41 weeks as world No.1, a sensational feat given the era of tennis he played with Novak Djokovic, Rafael Nadal and Roger Federer.
Murray also led England to victory in the Davis Cup, ending a 79-year wait to lift the trophy, with 2015 being the team’s first victory since 1936.
Murray, who also won Olympic silver alongside Laura Robson in the mixed doubles and was a finalist in two other Grand Slams he did not win – Roland-Garros and the Australian Open – has struggled with various injury problems since 2016 and looks as if he is. His career was over before he returned with hip metal.
After his comeback, Murray returned to the world’s top 50, won the European Open, reached three more ATP Tour finals, won the Queen’s Club doubles title and lifted three trophies on the lower-level ATP Challenger Tour.
Murray confirmed in July 2023 that he was beginning to think about retirement and in February this year, he announced that 2024 would ‘probably’ be his last summer of tennis, with the Olympics in Paris being one of the final events.
In March, Murray suffered an ankle injury – admitting he would be out for a ‘longer period’ – but returned in time for the French Open. He was set to play Wimbledon singles before injuring his back at Queen’s Club in June but was only fit enough for the doubles. After the Olympic double, he is now officially retired.
What will Andy Murray do next after retiring from tennis?
Andy Murray ‘definitely’ sees me as having ‘some involvement’ in tennis going forward. Earlier, he was interested in entering the coaching career.
But for now, the British sports legend will take some time to focus on his family.
“Ultimately, the decision has to come from me,” Murray told CNN last week about his retirement from professional tennis. ‘I’m happy to be able to finish playing the Olympics with many… I consider many of the tennis players in our team close friends of mine.
‘Being around him (makes me happy) and I have good memories from the Olympics. I don’t know exactly what my legacy is… and I don’t feel like I have to decide, it’s more for someone else. And what’s next – initially, I’m going to go home and I’m going to spend time with my family and be around my children.
‘I have four children, I want to be at home for them and I want to avoid long weeks of traveling and being away from it. I found that hard the last few years.
“I want to go home with him and take some time to relax and recover and think about what I want, what I want to do next. I definitely still see myself having some involvement in tennis. And I hope for something new now. But I haven’t sure what’s new.’
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