Andy Murray said the Olympics will be his farewell. Photo: Photosport
Briton Andy Murray, the first male player to capture two Olympic singles gold medals, said on Tuesday that the tennis competition at the Paris Games will be the final event of his glittering career before retirement.
Murray, widely regarded as one of Britain's all-time great sportsmen, won gold in London 2012 beating Roger Federer in the final and successfully defended his title in Rio four years later by defeating Juan Martin del Potro.
The injury-plagued 37-year-old, who in 2013 ended a 77-year wait for a British men's singles champion at Wimbledon and won the trophy again in 2016, had previously said he was unlikely to continue his career beyond this year.
"Arrived in Paris for my last ever tennis tournament @Olympics," Murray said on X.
"Competing for Britain has been by far the most memorable weeks of my career and I'm extremely proud to get do it one final time."
Murray received a star-studded, emotional farewell earlier this month at Wimbledon, the venue where he won two of his three major titles, following a first-round doubles defeat partnering his brother Jamie.
The Scot, who had surgery on 22 June to remove a spinal cyst which was compressing his nerves and made him lose control and power in his right leg, had decided he was not fit enough for the demands of singles competition at the All England Club.
The tennis competition at the Olympics begins on Saturday and Murray, who made his Olympic debut in Beijing 2008, will play in both singles and doubles in his fifth and final Games.
Murray resurrected his career after having hip-resurfacing surgery in 2019 but has struggled to make the latter stages of leading tournaments since and endured an ankle injury earlier this season.
- Reuters