Wimbledon withdrawal? How Murray silenced premature ATP announcement

Andy Murray continues to make efforts for a farewell at Wimbledon after the 3-time Grand Slam champion underwent surgery nine days before the tournament. The official ATP social media account announced that Murray was ‘sadly out’ of the event, but deleted the post at the request of Murray’s camp, as reported by The Sun.

The former world No. 1 suffered a regrettable injury in the second round of the Queen’s Club Championships while playing his match against Jordan Thompson, trailing 1-4 in the first set. Murray reported a back injury and underwent minor surgery, still holding on to the dream of returning to Wimbledon.

In the match against Thompson, unfortunate scenes unfolded as the legendary Scottish tennis player visibly struggled to move: “Obviously it wasn't great. I have been struggling with my back for a while,” Murray said. “I had loss of power in my right leg. So loss of motor control, had no coordination. Yeah, couldn't move,” he said after his retirement at Queen’s Club.

According to The Sun, the typical recovery time for a surgery like Murray’s is four to six weeks, although the former world No. 1 has not yet ruled out his participation in SW19. Murray and his team will wait to assess the 37-year-old’s physical condition by the end of the week when he is expected to return to the training courts to hit balls.

However, the ATP preempted Murray’s decision and assumed that the 2-time Wimbledon champion would not participate in this year’s tournament due to the surgery. They had to delete the post at the request of Murray’s team, who were furious about the details of his operation being leaked to the public.

British Davis Cup captain Leon Smith commented on the unusual situation from the ATP: “I’ve seen the reports and on social media and that’s not my understanding,” he said. “This has come from one source and had a knock-on effect, a lot of people are reporting it.”

“But that's not my understanding. He obviously went through a procedure yesterday and you have to wait and see now,” Smith added. “My understanding is no decision has been made and let's hope for the best for Andy.”