Andy Murray has withdrawn from the Wimbledon singles tournament on his final appearance at the Championships, having failed to recover sufficiently from surgery on a spinal cyst just over a week ago.
Murray, 37, issued a statement through his camp on Tuesday morning: “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.
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“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 rising Czech star Tomas Machac on Centre Court in the last slot of the day, but practice throughout the week has not seen him arrive at the level that he feels is sufficient to be competitive, which means as much to him, if not more, than just playing.
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David Goffin, the 33-year-old Belgian, will replace Murray as a lucky loser in the draw.
Murray, who is a two-time champion at Wimbledon having won in 2013 and 2016, played his last singles match at the Championships in 2023, when he lost to Greece’s Stefanos Tsitsipas in five sets over two days on Centre Court.
Andy – we’re sorry to hear you won’t be playing singles this year.
But we are so looking forward to seeing you compete in the doubles and celebrating all the memories you have given us 💚💜 pic.twitter.com/rB7onqfirX
— Wimbledon (@Wimbledon) July 2, 2024
‘Not the ending Murray wanted – or deserved’
Analysis from tennis correspondent Charlie Eccleshare
If anyone deserved a proper send-off from Wimbledon, it was Murray. The two-time champion who ended Britain’s 77-year wait for a home male winner desperately wanted one last singles match on Centre Court, but had to eventually admit defeat. Ultimately, there just wasn’t enough time to recover from the back surgery that medical experts told The Athletic normally has a six-week recovery time. Murray was attempting to do it in a little over a week.
Getting to play in the doubles later in the week with his brother Jamie is a silver lining, but it may have a different feel to what Murray was hoping for. He craved a competitive singles match, whereas the doubles — depending on his physical state — may have more of an exhibition feel.
Murray will do everything to be as competitive as possible but his body might have other ideas.
Either way, the Scot will have one last match at Wimbledon and there will be a hugely celebratory feel — even if it’s not the ending he wanted.
(Francois Nel/Getty Images)