Murray ends five years outside of top 40 in milestone after hip comeback

Andy Murray returned to the top 40 after five years and is close to being seeded at Wimbledon

Former world No. 1 Andy Murray has reached his highest ranking since 2018, when he underwent surgery and his retirement seemed imminent. Two consecutive challenger titles will propel him to the world No. 38 as of Monday, just a few weeks before Wimbledon.

The British player, who dropped out of the top 800 after his surgery, has been enjoying a string of good results in recent weeks. He claimed the title at the Aix-en-Provence Challenger after the Madrid Open and has now won ten consecutive matches, capturing the Surbiton and Nottingham challengers. These victories will contribute to his rise in the rankings.

On June 26th, the 32 seeded players for Wimbledon will be determined, and Murray has the opportunity this week to secure a seeding that would allow him to avoid other seeded players in the early rounds. To achieve this, the 3-time Grand Slam champion must have a strong showing at the ATP 500 Queen's Club tournament.

According to the latest rankings update, the last seeding position would currently belong to Sebastian Korda with 1,175 points, while Murray has 1,030 points, leaving a gap of 145 points. Nick Kyrgios, Tomás Etcheverry, and Tallon Griekspoor are also within that range, ranking above Korda but by less than 35 points, so their seeding is not guaranteed either.

To surpass that threshold, the 2-time Wimbledon champion would need to at least reach the semifinals, which would earn him 180 points. He would also have to monitor the results of other players who could still earn those seeding spots this week, such as Ben Shelton, Matteo Berrettini, or Alejandro Davidovich Fokina.

If Murray reaches the final or becomes the champion, he will secure a seeding position. Making it to the semifinals will require him to keep an eye on the performances of his rivals.

Murray will debut against the 7th seed of the Queen's Club Championship, Alex de Minaur. If he wins, his second-round opponent would be either Diego Schwartzman or Mackenzie McDonald, with Taylor Fritz potentially appearing later in the draw.