Andy Murray withdraws from Wimbledon singles, will make final tournament appearance in the doubles
By George Ramsay, CNN
(CNN) — Two-time winner Andy Murray will not play in the singles competition at this year’s Wimbledon after recently undergoing spinal surgery, his management team announced on Tuesday.
However, Murray does hope to play in the doubles with his brother Jamie, which will be his final appearance at Wimbledon.
“Unfortunately, despite working incredibly hard on his recovery since his operation just over a week ago, Andy has taken the very difficult decision not to play the singles this year,” said a statement from the 37-year-old’s team.
“As you can imagine, he is extremely disappointed but has confirmed that he will be playing in the doubles with Jamie and looks forward to competing at Wimbledon for the last time.”
Murray had been scheduled to face Czech Republic’s Tomas Machac in the first round of the grass-court grand slam on Tuesday and was waiting until the last moment to decide whether he would play.
He has been recovering from surgery for a spinal cyst having pulled out of the Queen’s Club Championship because of the back injury.
Murray, a three-time grand slam champion, is approaching the end of his tennis career and previously said that the upcoming Olympics in Paris could be his final tournament.
He said that he wants to “go out playing a proper match” and wouldn’t rule out participating at other tournaments this season if he was unable to be competitive at Wimbledon and the Olympics.
Murray, the only British man in the Open Era to win a grand slam singles title, won his first major at the US Open in 2012 and claimed his two Wimbledon victories in 2013 and 2016.
A former world No. 1, he won back-to-back singles gold medals at the 2012 and 2016 Olympics, as well as a silver alongside Laura Robson in the 2012 mixed doubles.
After returning from hip resurfacing surgery in 2019, he climbed back inside the world’s top 50 but has continued to struggle with injury problems in recent years.
Following Murray’s singles withdrawal at Wimbledon, Belgium’s David Goffin, a lucky loser in qualifying, has been confirmed as Machac’s opponent in the first round.
“Andy – we’re sorry to hear you won’t be playing singles this year,” the tournament said in a statement on social media. “But we are so looking forward to seeing you compete in the doubles and celebrating all the memories you have given us.”
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CNN’s Aleks Klosok contributed to reporting.
