Former world number one Andy Murray will not play at the 2024 Madrid Open despite recently returning to the practice court.
The Brit last stood on the courts at the Miami Open, where he unfortunately injured himself, which was the last thing he needed. Just a few weeks ago, Murray announced that this season will be his final one, as he’ll likely play until the summer and then retire.
Many assume Wimbledon is the place where it will all go down, and an injury jeopardizes that. The injury didn’t look that terrible initially, but reports after the match suggested it was quite serious.
A surgery was one of the options mentioned, and that would basically ensure that he’d miss Wimbledon, something he likely wouldn’t want.
Murray updated his fans recently by admitting that he won’t be getting the surgery but will try to fix things the old-school way. Whether it will work remains to be seen, but he’s apparently already back on the courts practicing, and that’s a great sign.
A potential return doesn’t seem likely soon, though, as Murray officially withdrew from the Madrid Open. The clay season was never a part of the season he would have likely given too much attention to anyway, so it’s not a huge loss for him.
However, considering that this might be his final year, he likely would have wanted to play at all of these bigger events. The Madrid Open is now out of the question; the Italian Open is highly unlikely, with Roland Garros maybe possible.
His injury won’t go away easily, so he’ll have to do some serious rehabilitation to get himself back into playing shape. Wimbledon is likely the event he’ll want to play at all costs. But the rest of the calendar is still unclear for him.
