At 37, retirement is looming for Andy Murray. Ever since his hip surgery, the Briton has looked a shadow of his peak time in tennis. Although he has struggled with both form and fitness, Murray has continued participating in tournaments day in and day out. However, he suffered a major blow recently which even threatens his participation in the upcoming Wimbledon Championships.

Murray was warming up for the SW19 at the Queen’s Club tournament in London. While he won his opening-round encounter yesterday, the former World Number 1 suffered a heartbreaking turn of events as he was forced to retire in the second-round match against Jordan Thompson today. A rumored back injury forced him to withdraw from the tournament and put his Wimbledon participation in limbo.

Murray’s match against Thompson ended when the former had it enough after Thompson was leading 4-1 in the opening set. While Murray was shaking hands with Thompson at the net after the match, he was rumored saying to Thompson that his back locked up. This may have also hindered Murray’s movement during the match and the Briton didn’t want to aggravate his injury further. As a result, he retired midway through the match.

Such injury setbacks are no alien to Andy Murray. A few years ago, he even underwent hip surgery and had a metal cap inserted in his hip. After retiring against Thompson, Murray was seen limping out of the court and looked in total dismay. While a back injury is rumored, it is still unclear which injury led Murray to retire. Despite Wimbledon participation in doubt, Murray is a fighter on and off the court and his fighting spirit was recently praised by Andy Roddick.

Andy Murray keeps adding to his legacy

The British tennis legend has had a stellar career despite numerous injury setbacks. He has emerged stronger every time he has fallen down with injuries and this fighting spirit was praised by Roddick.

The American legend, during an interview, stated, “In a weird way, I think this kind of compromised version of Murray almost adds to his legacy. The way that he has grinded out the last 4-5 years, I certainly respect, and I don’t know if even I could have done that; I don’t know if a lot of us could have done it.” 

On multiple occasions, Murray has hinted that this season will potentially be the final one of his illustrious tennis career. Thus, fans would be eager to see him at Wimbledon for one final time before he retires. However, for now, Murray has to work on his fitness and ensure that he gets back fit in time for the grass-court Grand Slam tournament, which is not far away.