Andy Murray announced in an emotional press conference on Thursday that he will be retiring from tennis this year due to his hip injury.
Murray missed four consecutive majors from the end of 2017 through 2018 and underwent hip surgery last January. He tried to return midway through the year and even played in the US Open, where he lost in the second round. He was only able to play a limited schedule and was often knocked out early in tournaments.
After meeting on Thursday with the surgeon in Australian who operated on his hip last year, Murray made the announcement about his impending retirement. He said he would like to retire after Wimbledon but is not sure he’ll be able to play long enough to reach that event.
“I’m not feeling good. I’ve been struggling for a long time. Been in a lot of pain for 20 months now. Pretty much done everything I could to make my hip feel better,” Murray said, via The Guardian.
“Wimbledon is where I would like to stop playing but I’m not certain I’ll be able to do that. I’m not certain I can play through the pain for an other four five months.”
Murray says he is able to play with limitations, but those limitations are preventing him from enjoying training and competing. As for the type of pain he’s dealing with, he said he can’t put on his shoes or socks without pain.
The 31-year-old leaves behind an excellent legacy in the sport. Murray was a part of the “Big Four” in men’s tennis, with his peers including Novak Djokovic, Roger Federer and Rafael Nadal for nearly a decade. After reaching the finals of four majors and losing in all of them, Murray finally broke through in 2012 by winning the US Open, beating Djokovic. He later captured two Wimbledon titles. He has won 45 singles titles in all, been ranked No. 1 in the world, and he impressively won the gold medal in men’s singles in the 2012 and 2016 Olympics. Murray went 3-8 in his career in major finals, with five of the losses coming to Djokovic and three to Federer — some of the best company in the history of the sport.
