Sir Andy Murray struggled to hold back tears on Friday as he announced he plans to retire from his tennis career this year. The former men’s world number one said he intended to bow out following Wimbledon in June, but admitted he feared that next week’s Australian Open could be his last tournament.
The 31-year-old has been struggling to recover from a hip injury and surgery, and revealed at a press conference in Melbourne that he has been in pain while he plays. "I'm not sure I'm able to play through the pain for another four or five months," Andy said. "I want to get to Wimbledon and stop but I'm not certain I can do that." However, Andy says he still intends to play his Australian Open first-round match against Roberto Bautista Agut next week.
© Photo: Getty ImagesAndy Murray has announced he plans to retire in 2019
An emotional Andy left the room briefly to compose himself during the conference, before returning to explain why he was forced to make the heart-breaking decision to retire. "I'm not feeling good, I've been struggling for a long time. I've been in a lot of pain for about 20 months now," he said. “I've pretty much done everything I could to try and get my hip feeling better and it hasn't helped loads.”
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Andy added: "I'm in a better place than I was six months ago but I'm still in a lot of pain. I can still play to a level, but not a level I have played at."
© Photo: Getty ImagesAndy's career has been thwarted by a hip injury
The dad-of-two has also had the option to have more surgery to have his hip resurfaced, which he says would allow him "to have a better quality of life and be free of pain". Andy said it was something he was now "seriously considering" in a bid to ease the pain he has been experiencing since 2017.
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Andy has achieved huge success throughout his tennis career, and in 2016 he became the only man in history to win singles titles at a Grand Slam, the Olympic Games, a Masters 1000 event and the World Tour Finals in the same calendar year. His wife Kim Sears and mum Judy Murray have been two of Andy’s biggest supporters so will no doubt be on hand to support him through this challenging and emotional time.
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