Three-time major champion Andy Murray began his emotional Wimbledon farewell on Thursday.
Murray pulled out of his first-round men’s singles matchup on Tuesday due to a back injury he suffered last month at the 2024 Queen’s Club Championships, where he played his 1,000th career match. The 37-year-old is limited to men’s doubles alongside older brother Jamie Murray and mixed doubles with Emma Raducanu at Wimbledon, but his final year at the All England Club didn’t get off to the ideal start.
The Murray brothers were defeated in straight sets 7-6 (8-6), 6-4 in the first round by Australians Rinky Hijikata and John Peers on Centre Court, but the loss didn’t completely rain on Murray’s farewell parade.
Former English tennis star and BBC presenter Sue Barker led an emotional tribute ceremony to the British tennis star, who reflected on his 19-year career.
“I want to play forever,” Murray said on Thursday. “I love the sport. It’s given me so, so much. It taught me loads of lessons over the years I can use for the rest of my life. I don’t want to stop, so it is hard.”
The two-time Olympic gold medalist citied his numerous injuries as the reason behind him hanging up his tennis racket after the 2024 Olympics in Paris, saying “physically it’s too tough now.”
“It’s been hard for me, but it has been hard for them,” Murray said of his close friends, family and coaches. “The injuries have been tough, quite significant injuries. We’ve worked extremely hard just to be on the court competing, probably not at the level any of us wanted, but we tried.”
Murray’s mother Judy, father Willie, wife Kim and their two oldest daughters, Sophia and Edie, were in the crowd. Fellow tennis stars, including Novak Djokovic, John McEnroe and Iga Świątek, were also on court for the ceremony.
“I guess I speak on behalf of Jamie when I say my mum and dad have been amazing support when we were little, allowing us to pursue our dreams,” Murray said. “(My wife Kim) has been an amazing support to me and my whole family, she’s the best mum. Unfortunately in a couple of months she’ll have to see me every day. Things might be rocky, but hopefully we can stick it out together.”
Murray said it was “really special” playing alongside his brother Jamie, a seven-time Grand Slam doubles champion, for the first time: “We never got the chance to do it before, just the way things worked out. There was a chance this year. Jamie’s usual partner (Michael Venus) was playing with Neal Skupski. It was a race against time to be here. Physically it wasn’t easy but I was glad we were able to do it this year.”
The brothers shared a long embrace after Murray’s speech.
Murray is not done at Wimbledon yet. He’s patterned with fellow English star Emma Raducanu in mixed double’s, which kicks off Friday. And even after that, Murray said he’s not saying goodbye to Wimbledon entirely.
“I’m not never going to come back here,” he said. “It depends who I’m watching. I hate watching my brother. I find it really difficult to watch my brother play. But I love tennis, I watch it a lot. I would probably be more comfortable sitting up there in the coaching box.”
This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: Andy Murray teary at Wimbledon salute after doubles loss with brother
