The 2019 season will be Andy Murray’s final one on tour. In fact, the Australian Open could be his last tournament.
Unable to make a full recovery from major hip surgery, Murray announced his upcoming retirement from tennis during a Friday afternoon press conference in Melbourne.
“I spoke to my team and I told them I can’t keep doing this and that I need to have and end point, because I was just playing with no idea when the pain was going to stop,” a tearful Murray explained. “I said, look, I think I can kind of get through this until Wimbledon, that is where I would like to stop. I’m also not certain I’m able to do that.
“I can still play to a level–not a level that I’m happy playing at. But it’s not just that; the pain is too much really. It’s not something I want, I don’t want to continue playing that way. I’ve tried pretty much everything that I could to get it right and that hasn’t worked.”
After finishing 2016 at No. 1 in the world, the three-time Grand Slam champion missed an entire year from the end of Wimbledon in 2017 to the grass-court swing in 2018. He played only 12 matches last season, compiling a 7-5 record while never looking 100 percent. Murray began this 2019 campaign last week in Brisbane, where he defeated James Duckworth before falling to eventual runner-up Daniil Medvedev in the second round.
The 31-year-old Scot will face Doha winner Roberto Bautista Agut during Australian Open first-round action on Monday. With a loss, it could be Murray’s final match–even though Wimbledon is the ultimate goal.
“There’s a chance of that, for sure,” he said when asked it the Aussie Open may have to be it. “Like I said, I’m not sure I’m able to play through the pain for another four or five months. I have an option to have another operation, which is a little more severe than what I’ve had before and having my hip resurfaced, which would allow me to have a better quality of life and be out of pain. That’s something I’m seriously considering right now. Some athletes have had that and gone back to competing but there’s obviously no guarantees with that…. The reason for having an operation like that is not to return to professional sport. It’s for a better quality of life.”
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