"When the time is right, I will stop": Andy Murray takes U-turn about retirement talk ahead of French Open

Sunday, 26 May 2024 at 11:38

Former world number one Andy Murray has seemingly taken a U-turn about his retirement. The 36-year-old has struggled with consistent fitness concerns throughout his career. Because of this, he announced after the Australian Open in 2018 that he would retire from the sport.

However, after a short time, Murray miraculously returned to the court and is still playing at the highest level. This year, the Glasgow-born star has again struggled with fitness concerns and missed a couple of months of action after suffering an ankle injury.

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That injury and inconsistent form sparked rumours about his retirement in the near future. Murray was recently quoted in a report as seemingly taking a U-turn about his retirement plan despite hinting in the recent past that he might quit the game in the near future.

“When the time is right, I will stop. I don’t know if I will play past the summer,” he said while talking to the media ahead of his French Open round of 128 clash against Switzerland’s Stan Wawrinka.

“The results I have been having are not what I would want. But the mentality around whether it’s with my racquets and rehab or whatever, it’s always to try to get better. Is there anything that you can do that might help and influence some results or not? I have to wait to see whether it’s a good decision for me or not. It’s something that I wanted to see whether it could make a difference.

Andy Murray will face Switzerland’s Stan Wawrinka in the round of 128 of the French Open.

“I know they are different things but you wouldn’t get a golfer using the same clubs that they came out with 25 years ago. A Formula One car is not going to be the same today as it was 25 years ago. For some reason, tennis is a sport where players are always reluctant to change.

“I felt like now is the time to see whether it can make a difference. I felt like it was something I wanted to try. I don’t want to finish my career thinking: ‘Should I have given it a go to see whether or not that was something that could have potentially helped me’. I have really enjoyed it as well. That’s probably helped me a bit the last few weeks as well.”

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Azeem Siddiqui

Azeem Siddiqui is a seasoned sports journalist and data analyst with a strong background in both digital media and live sports production.

He began his journalism career working with partners of The New York Times and has since contributed to several leading international sports publications, including Fox Sports Asia, Calciomercato, and GiveMeSport. Since 2023, Azeem has been part of the TennisUpToDate team, where he has played a key role in sustaining the platform’s growth and ensuring tennis fans receive timely and reliable coverage of the sport’s biggest stories.

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