Two-time champion Andy Murray will not feature at Wimbledon this summer (Picture: Getty)
Judy Murray has voiced her deep ‘disappointment’ after a supposed leak led to reports that her son Andy Murray had been ruled out of this year’s Wimbledon.
Murray, 37, a two-time champion at SW19, was forced to retire injured during the first set of his second-round contest with Jordan Thompson at Queen’s Club last week.
The veteran Scot complained of numbness in his right leg following his withdrawal and subsequent scans determined that he required surgery on a spinal cyst in his back.
Murray’s latest setback comes after the former world number one hinted he would likely bring his illustrious 20-year career in tennis to an end following this summer’s Wimbledon – which begins on July 1 – and the 2024 Olympic Games in Paris, starting on July 26.
The three-time Grand Slam winner has struggled with ankle and back problems throughout the latter stages of his career and underwent major hip surgery in early 2019 in a bid to prolong his playing days.
In a brief statement on X, which was later deleted, the ATP Tour appeared to confirm that Murray had been ruled out of Wimbledon after going under the knife on Saturday.
‘After an operation on a spinal cyst, Andy Murray is sadly out of Wimbledon,’ the message read.
‘Rest up and recover Andy, we’ll miss seeing you there.’
However, the aforementioned post was swiftly removed from the ATP Tour’s social media pages and Murray’s camp have since insisted that he is yet to give up hope of competing at next month’s championships.
‘He obviously went through a procedure yesterday and you have to wait and see now,’ Murray’s Davis Cup captain Leon Smith told the BBC last week.
‘My understanding is no decision has been made and let’s hope for the best for Andy.’
Judy Murray, meanwhile, took to X this afternoon to underline that Andy Murray had not been ruled out of Wimbledon, revealing her disgust that a ‘trusted’ member of their circle had apparently leaked details to the press.
‘When your private medical details are leaked to the media by someone you thought you could trust. So disappointing. And – FYI – not ruled out yet,’ she said in response to a post from The Telegraph.
After pulling out of Queen’s earlier this week, Murray said it became immediately apparent during his pre-match warm-up that his right leg ‘was not working properly’.
‘During my pre-match warm-up I was pretty uncomfortable and then I walked up the stairs, just before going out on the court, I didn’t have the normal strength in my right leg. It was not a usual feeling,’ he told reporters.
‘The the first two balls I hit in the warm-up, my right leg, it was like so uncoordinated. I had no coordination.
‘Then yeah, my right leg just was not working properly. In hindsight I wish I hadn’t gone on there because it was pretty awkward for everyone.
There is nothing I could do and then there is a part of you that wants to go out there and see if it gets better and maybe feel better with a bit of treatment or something, but that wasn’t the case.’
Murray was named in Great Britain’s Olympics squad earlier this week but his chances of appearing in Paris later this summer now appear slim to none.
The much-loved Briton has fallen to 129 in the ATP rankings, but was handed a place by the International Tennis Federation after winning gold at London 2012 and Rio 2016.
Speaking to Sky Sports in March, former Wimbledon favourite Tim Henman said Murray would be badly ‘missed’ whenever he decides to call time on his ‘absolutely incredible’ career.
‘There’s been a lot of talk around his retirement and I’ve always said that he should play for as long as he wants,’ Henman said.
‘There’s been an indication that he’s going to stop some time in the summer and when we all look back and reflect on what he’s achieved, it’s absolutely incredible.
‘To win three Slams and two Olympic golds as well as the Davis Cup and be world No 1, it’s an absolutely phenomenal achievement and I think you do have to take into account the era that he’s been competing in against Federer, Nadal, and Djokovic who are three of the greatest players in the history of our sport, so he will look back with a lot of satisfaction.
‘He’s going to enjoy these last few months and we should enjoy watching him because I’m sure we’ll miss him when he’s gone.’
