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Andy Murray to retire after Wimbledon – but admits pain may force him to quit after Aussie Open
SOBBING Sir Andy Murray is on the verge of quitting tennis after admitting: "I’m in pain daily.";
In an extraordinary pre-Australian Open press conference, the British sporting legend fears his first-round against Spaniard Roberto Bautista Agut on Monday could be the LAST of his glittering career.
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The two-time Wimbledon champion, 31, is struggling with a troublesome hip injury that required surgery 12 months ago in Australia.
The Scot still hopes to carry on playing until Wimbledon this summer — but he worries his broken body is not allowing him to play at the highest level anymore.
Murray had to take a break from his presser after breaking down on stage here in Melbourne.
After several minutes backstage to compose himself, he said: “I’m not feeling good.
Andy Murray breaks down in tears as he admits he plans to retire at Wimbledon 2019 because of chronic hip pain
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“Obviously I’ve been struggling for a long time. I have been in a lot of pain for probably about 20 months now.
“I have pretty much done everything that I could to try and get my hip feeling better. It hasn’t helped loads.
“I’m in a better place than I was six months ago, but still in a lot of pain. Yeah, it has been tough.”
“In the middle to the end of December in my training block, I spoke to my team, and I told them ‘I cannot keep doing this’.
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“I needed to have an end point because I was sort of playing with no idea when the pain was going to stop. I felt like making that decision. I said to my team, ‘look, I think I can get through this until Wimbledon.’
“But could this be my last tournament? There’s a chance of that, for sure. There’s a chance of that, for sure.”
Murray has seen psychologists and spoken with players like the American doubles star Bob Bryan who came back from a hip op.
But he says that going under the doctor’s knife one more time may end his career – and would be to ensure he has a better “quality of life” in retirement.
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He said: “I’m not sure I am able to play through the pain for another four or five months.
“I have an option to have another operation, which is a little bit more severe than what I have had before. Having my hip resurface, which will allow me to have a better quality of life, be out of pain.
“That is something I’m seriously considering right now. Some athletes have had that and gone back to competing.
“But there are obviously no guarantees with that, and it is not something…the reason for having an operation is not to return to professional sport, it’s just for a better quality of life.”
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