Andy Murray has officially confirmed his retirement from tennis after playing his final professional match at the 2024 Olympic Games in Paris.
Murray played a total of 1001 singles matches and revealed ahead of the Games that it would be his ‘last ever tennis tournament’ – with his quarter-final men’s doubles defeat next to Dan Evans on Thursday meaning it is now all over.
Taylor Fritz and Tommy Paul beat Murray and Evans 6-2 6-4, with the British duo unable to follow up on their two rollercoaster victories over Japan and Belgium.
‘I’m proud of my career, my achievements and what I put into the sport,’ Murray said after his last dance in the French capital. ‘Obviously it was emotional because it’s the last time I will play. But I am genuinely happy now. I’m happy with how it finished. I’m glad I got to go out here at the Olympics and finish on my terms.’
Widely regarded as one of Great Britain’s biggest sporting heroes, Murray hangs up his racket and has called time on his career with two Wimbledon titles, two Olympic gold medals, the US Open and the Davis Cup in his trophy cabinet.
The 37-year-old ended Britain’s 77-year wait for a Wimbledon men’s singles champion in 2013, which sparked emotional scenes up and down the country.
He struggled badly with injuries in his twilight years but made a shock comeback with a metal hip and remarkably went on to land even more silverware.
Murray picked up a nasty back problem at Queen’s Club in June, which required surgery and forced him out of one last appearance in the Wimbledon singles, although he did get an emotional farewell playing doubles with his brother Jamie.
He had been hoping to play Olympic singles but, again, could not get himself fit enough as he decided to solely focus on the doubles with fellow Brit Evans.
Murray registered a total of 46 career titles in singles, which puts him 15th overall in the Open Era. He stands alone as the first tennis player – and only man in history – to win Olympic gold singles medals on two different surfaces.
He enjoyed 41 weeks as the world No.1, a sensational feat given the era of tennis he was playing in with Novak Djokovic, Rafael Nadal and Roger Federer.
Murray guided Britain to glory in the Davis Cup too, ending the country’s 79-year wait to lift the trophy, with 2015 marking the team’s first triumph since 1936.
Murray, who also won Olympic silver alongside Laura Robson in mixed doubles and was a finalist at the other two Grand Slams he didn’t win – Roland-Garros and the Australian Open – has struggled with various injury problems since 2016 and it looked like his career was over before he successfully returned with a metal hip.
After making a comeback, Murray worked his way back into the world top 50, won the European Open, reached three more ATP Tour finals, won the Queen’s Club doubles title and lifted three trophies on the lower-level ATP Challenger Tour.
Murray confirmed in July 2023 that he was starting to think about retirement and in February this year, he announced that 2024 was ‘likely’ going to be his final summer in tennis, with the Olympics in Paris to be one of his last events.
In March, Murray suffered an ankle injury – admitting that he would be ruled out for an ‘extended period’ – but returned in time for the French Open. He was set to play Wimbledon singles before his back injury at Queen’s Club in June but was only fit enough for doubles. After the Olympic doubles, he’s now officially retired.
What will Andy Murray do next after his retirement from tennis?
Andy Murray ‘definitely’ sees himself having ‘some involvement’ in tennis going forward. He has previously expressed an interest in entering a coaching career.
For now, though, the British sporting legend is going to take some time away to focus on his family.
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‘Ultimately, the decision had to come from me,’ Murray told CNN last week about his retirement from professional tennis. ‘I’m happy that I get to finish playing an Olympics with a lot of my… I consider a lot of the tennis players on our team close friends of mine.
‘Getting to be around them [makes me happy] and I have great memories from the Olympics. I don’t know exactly what my legacy is… and I don’t feel like it’s for me to decide that, it’s more for others. And what’s next – initially, I’m going to go home and I’m going to spend time with my family and be around my kids.
‘I have four young children which, I want to be at home for them and I want to avoid the long weeks of traveling and being away from that. I found that hard the last few years.
‘I want to be home with them and take some time to relax and recover and have a think about what it is that I want to do, what it is that I want to do next. I definitely still see myself having some involvement in tennis. And I’m looking forward to something new now. But I’m not entirely sure of what that new is yet.’
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