Andy Murray’s fitness remains shrouded in mystery after the ATP tweeted and then deleted a statement announcing his withdrawal from Wimbledon.
Murray, who has had numerous fitness issues since injuring his back as world No 1 in 2017, retired from his second-round match at Queen’s on Wednesday, unable to move freely due to pain in his back and leg.
He underwent surgery on Saturday, and it was reported by The Telegraph on Sunday that the 37-year-old had been advised to have a six-week lay-off period, resulting in his likely withdrawal from Wimbledon – which begins on 1 July – where he was set to appear in the men’s singles and doubles alongside his older brother, Jamie.
The ATP, the governing body of the men’s tour, tweeted: “After an operation on a spinal cyst, Andy Murray is sadly out of Wimbledon. Rest up and recover Andy, we’ll miss seeing you there.”
But that message was soon removed from social media, with Murray’s camp briefing that no decision has yet been made on his participation.
If the injury is as serious as reported then it throws into doubt an appearance at Murray’s fifth Olympic Games in Paris at the end of July.
The latest surgery could bring to an end an illustrious career which includes three grand slam titles – the 2012 US Open and Wimbledon, 2013 and 2016 – two Olympic gold medals and 46 career titles.
He reached world No 1 for the first time after winning the end-of-season finals in London in 2016 and also led Great Britain to their first Davis Cup in 79 years in 2015.
Murray said after retiring at Queen’s: “I didn’t get the right side of my back treated after the French Open [a few weeks ago]. All tennis players have degenerative joints in the back but it’s all predominantly been left-sided for me for pretty much my whole career. I’ve never had too many issues with the right side.
“Maybe there’s something which can be done between now and then [Wimbledon] with my right side – I will have a scan tomorrow and re-check and see what can be done. I don’t know exactly what the problem is. I just know I haven’t experienced that before – the back pain today and yesterday. I don’t know what the procedure will be or what to expect.”
Murray won his first tour-level match in nearly three months on Tuesday, victorious in his 1,000th tour contest in three sets against Alexei Popyrin after one hour and 51 minutes, and he showed no clear signs of discomfort afterwards.
Yet it was a different matter 24 hours later and Murray’s pain was clear from the first point, when he did not even attempt to move into position for a routine backhand after a Thompson return.
He inevitably called it a day when 4-1 down in the first set, marking his first retirement from a match in 11 years. Murray then waved to the 10,000-capacity Queen’s crowd, departing a tournament that he has won five times.
“I’ve been struggling with my back for a while,” he added on Wednesday. “I had pain in my right leg, no motor control, no coordination. And yeah, couldn’t move.
“My back has been a problem for quite a while, it’s been sore in the build-up to the tournament and was pretty sore in my match yesterday and sore through today – but I was able to manage it. It was not comfortable playing, but I was able to manage it.
“During my pre-match warm-up, I was pretty uncomfortable and then I walked up the stairs to go out on court and didn’t have normal strength in my right leg, not a usual feeling. The first two balls I hit in the warm-up, my right leg was so uncoordinated. My leg was not working properly.
“I wish I hadn’t gone on court, to be honest. I didn’t realise until I was walking to go on court. In hindsight, I wish I hadn’t gone on there. It was pretty awkward for everyone, nothing I can do.”