Andy Murray shared a promising update after getting injured in Miami.
Andy Murray may still be able to retire on his terms despite picking up a freak injury at last month’s Miami Open. The former world No. 1 hinted that he could be back at the French Open for the final time after getting on a clay court. Murray previously revealed that he was looking to end his career this summer and his plans were thrown into doubt when he tore ligaments in his ankle.
Tennis fans collectively held their breath when Murray took a tumble towards the end of his marathon Miami match against Tomas Machac. The Brit played on but lost in a final set tiebreak and later revealed that he suffered a full rupture of his anterior talofibular ligament and near full thickness rupture of his calcaneofibular ligament.
The three-time Grand Slam champion has not played a match since, withdrawing from the clay-court tournaments in Monte Carlo, Munich and Madrid. He was able to avoid surgery and stopped using his ankle boot a couple of weeks ago. And Murray has now hinted that he could be back in action sooner than thought.
Andy Murray recently returned to the practice court and on Saturday, his coach Jonny O’Mara shared a video of the world No. 57 hitting on a clay court. With just two big tournaments left of the clay swing – the Italian Open and the French Open – it means that he could return to competition within the next month.
A former finalist at the French Open, Murray has not competed in the Grand Slam tournament since 2020. Earlier this season, he shared his intentions to get back to Paris after announcing his plans to retire in the summer.
Asked whether he’d return to Roland Garros, the 36-year-old said: “Probably, yeah. Last few years I’ve tried to give myself maybe better preparation for the grass season, but that also doesn’t guarantee that you’re going to play really well on the grass.
“I’ve had experiences through my career where I didn’t play the French Open in 2013 and I won Wimbledon. I also played the French Open and did really well in 2016. I don’t think it makes a huge difference if you get an extra week’s practice or so on the grass. So yeah, I would like to play one more time.”
His wish to be in Paris looked to be in jeopardy when he got injured last month. But the French Open farewell could still be on now that Murray has been back out practising on a clay court. He remains on the entry list for both the ATP 1000 in Rome and for Roland Garros.
