Andy Murray’s participation at Wimbledon has been cast into confusion following his back surgery on Saturday after he was prematurely ruled out of the tournament.
The ATP, the men’s professional tour’s governing body, reported on X on Sunday that the Scot would not be fit enough to take part in Wimbledon, but the Guardian understands no decision has yet been made on whether Murray will take part and a final call on his participation will not be made until later this week.
Leon Smith, the head of men’s tennis at the Lawn Tennis Association and Murray’s childhood coach, said on BBC that he also believes no decision has been made.
“He obviously went through a procedure yesterday and you have to wait and see now. My understanding is no decision has been made and let’s hope for the best for Andy,” Smith said.
The ATP posted on Sunday lunchtime that the Scot had been ruled out of Wimbledon after the procedure. The ATP tweeted at lunchtime: “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.” The tweet was subsequently deleted and is understood to have been posted on the back of a report in the Telegraph that suggested Murray will be out for six weeks.
The 37-year-old is hoping to make a final appearance at SW19 this summer but Murray was forced to retire from his second-round match against Jordan Thompson at Queen’s Club on Wednesday while trailing 1-4 after struggling with significant back pain from the beginning of the match.
Murray said he had lost strength and coordination in his lower back and right leg as he walked on to the court before the match. Although he has had back pain since having back surgery in 2013, particularly during the clay court season, Murray said he had never experienced such a feeling in his life.
“I’ve just had this neural pain across my back for the past few weeks. It’s been pretty uncomfortable. And then today it was like, yeah, like just a numbness and loss of strength, power, control,” Murray said on Wednesday.
Such is his enduring passion for the sport, he was courtside to watch Charlie Robertson, a Scottish youngster, competing at the LTA Wimbledon wildcard playoffs at the All England Club even as his participation at Wimbledon remains uncertain. After several consultations, Murray had back surgery on Saturday.
Things have rarely been straightforward and easy for Murray throughout his career and in the final stretch life has again become extremely complicated. Murray had just returned from another significant injury after tearing ankle ligaments during the Miami Open in March.
In the coming days, Murray will have more significant decisions to make about both his presence at Wimbledon and how long he is willing to extend his career. A week ago, Murray was nominated to represent Great Britain at the Olympic Games, which begins less than two weeks after Wimbledon ends and represented another potential venue for his final tournament. It remains to be seen if he will be healthy enough to compete in either event.
