Andy Murray will make an appearance in Germany before his retirement from tennis as it has been announced he will feature at the 2024 edition of the BMW Open in Munich.
The three-time Grand Slam champion has not played the Bavarian International Tennis Championships since winning the title at the ATP 250 clay-court event in 2015.
The 2024 installment of the tournament will run from April 15-21 in the third week of the clay-court season, which will get underway at the start of next month.
Murray’s decision to compete in Munich suggests he will likely feature more prominently on clay than he has in recent years as he approaches the conclusion of his glittering career.
The 36-year-old revealed last month he was “likely not going to play past the summer” of 2024 as he addressed questions over his tennis future after his exit from the Dubai Championships.
The world No 62 is set to compete at the Miami Open this week, where he will face 2021 Wimbledon finalist Matteo Berrettini in a blockbuster opening round clash.
It was announced that the former world No 1 will make his return to Germany on the official social media accounts of the BMW Open.
https://x.com/BMWOpen24/status/1770054782113247608?s=20
The tournament posted: “This man needs no introduction🤫. Welcome back, @andy_murray!🤝 Our 2015 champion will hit our centre court once again. So excited for this!”
Murray defeated former world No 16 Philipp Kohlschreiber 7–6(4), 5–7, 7–6(4) in an entertaining title match in Munich in 2015.
Since undergoing two hip surgeries, Murray has played just 12 matches on clay, nine of which were in 2023 — with six of these coming on the Challenger Tour. Murray defeated Tommy Paul to win the Aix En Provence Challenger title on clay in May last year.
Andy Murray divulged in 2020, when he made his only Roland Garros appearance since 2017, that his career-changing hip injury became apparent during the 2017 French Open.
“That match I played against Stan [Wawrinka, in the 2017 semi-finals] a few years ago was a brutal one. I kind of knew something was up before the Nishikori match there [in the quarter-finals],” the Brit recalled.
“I didn’t know it was that bad, but then at the end of the Stan match, in the fifth set I was struggling to push up on my serve and moving to my forehand, and I have never felt the same after that match.”
Last month, 2016 Roland Garros runner-up Murray suggested he hopes to play the French Open one more time before his likely retirement this year.
“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,” Murray explained.
“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. I like the tournament. I like playing at Roland Garros.
“I mean, obviously, yeah, if you want to do well at the Olympics, you probably are going to have to play some tournaments and get matches in on the clay. Yeah, even if the Olympics was not after Wimbledon, I would still want to play it.”
