Andy Murray ended a glittering tennis career after crashing out of the Olympic Games in the men’s doubles. After pulling out of Wimbledon singles due to injury and Emma Raducanu also withdrawing from the mixed doubles, fans knew the Olympic Games in Paris would be the final time to see Murray on the court.
Murray and his doubles partner Dan Evans reached the quarter-finals but were bested by 6-2, 6-4 by American duo Tommy Paul and Taylor Fritz.
It’s been a dramatic week for the British pair after they saved five consecutive match points in the opening round against Japan’s Nei Nishikori and Taro Daniel, saving a further two match points in the next round against Joran Vliegen and Sander Gille; one more miracle was a step too far.
Tributes poured in on social media for the two-time Wimbledon champion whose first social media message after his retirement went instantly viral.
Murray simply posted on his official X account: “Never even liked tennis anyway.”Not one to miss out on the fun, his mum Judy also got involved. She reposted Murray’s witty comment stating: “Me neither”Murray was also quick to change his bio on X from ‘I play tennis’ to ‘I played tennis’.
This year’s Wimbledon winner Carlos Alcaraz showed his class with a touching tribute to Murray.
He wrote: “It was a privilege to share the court with you, Andy. Congratulations on a legendary career and for being an example to all. You will always have a fan here!”
The final months of Murray’s career has been plagued with injury and the Scot admitted he’s been playing through the pain during recent events.
He added his injury troubles is part of the reason he’s happy going out of the sport on his own terms.
“It’s been really hard,” Murray told the BBC: “Physically, pain wise, I feel bad. Physically, I can obviously can go on the court and perform at a level that’s competitive. We’re close to getting in the medal rounds here, that’s okay. But the pain and discomfort in my body is not good.
“That’s also why I’m happy to be finishing. Because if I kept going and kept trying, eventually you end up having an injury potentially ending your career. So, I know that now is the right time.”
He added: “When I wasn’t able to walk properly and my leg wasn’t functioning properly, I was told if this continues to grow and puts more pressure on the nerves, it turns into like an emergency situation where you can’t control your bladder and you’ll lose control of the other leg. That’s kind of when I knew it was time.
“Thankfully the surgeon did a brilliant job and obviously the rehab process got fast-tracked to try and play at Wimbledon and here but when that happened, I was like ‘whoa’. I was just looking forward to the end after that.”
