Andy Murray retired injured after seeing the physio during his second-round Queen’s Club match (Image: Getty)
Andy Murray admitted that he didn’t know whether his Wimbledon chances were in doubt after retiring from his second-round match at Queen’s with a back injury.
The former world No. 1 was making likely his final appearance at the west London tennis club. He played for just 23 minutes before forfeiting the match while trailing Jordan Thompson 1-4.
Murray later explained that he had been struggling with a back issue for a while but he felt a “loss of power” in his leg right before playing the match and regretted taking to the court.
“I have been struggling with my back for a while. Then, yeah, I had loss of power in my right leg. So loss of motor control, had no coordination. Yeah, couldn’t move,” Murray said of his injury. The five-time Queen’s champion explained that he had been managing a back problem for a while but felt something new ahead of Wednesday’s match.
He continued: “My back’s been a problem for quite a while, and it’s been sore in the buildup to the tournament. It was pretty sore in my match yesterday. Yeah, it was sore through today. But I was able to manage it. I wasn’t comfortable playing, but I was able to manage it. During my prematch warmup, you know, I was pretty uncomfortable, and then I walked up the stairs to go to, just before going on the court, I didn’t have, like, the usual just normal strength in my right leg. It was not a usual feeling.”
The five-time Queen’s champion called the physio after three games and received a medical time-out. He continued playing but retired at the next changeover and later confessed that he never should have stepped out for the match.
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Andy Murray retired five games into his match against Jordan Thompson (Image: Getty)
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“I had felt that when I was practising before the match, there is no way I would have played. But, you know, whatever happened from when I was doing my prematch warmup, you know, to going on the match court, yeah, you know, I wish I hadn’t gone on the court, to be honest,” he explained.
“But I didn’t really realise until I was kind of walking, you know, to go on the court. Yeah, in hindsight I wish I hadn’t gone on there, because it was pretty awkward for everyone. Yeah, there is nothing I could do, and then there is part of you that wants to go out there and see if it gets better, you know, and maybe feel better with a bit of treatment or something, but that wasn’t the case.”
Murray has previously said that he would likely stop playing this summer and retire. And he does not know whether he will be able to say farewell at Wimbledon or the Olympics after his latest setback. Asked if he could address his chances of playing at the All England Club in less than two weeks’ time, he replied: “I wouldn’t know.
Andy Murray said he had been managing back pain for a while but felt something new on Wednesday (Image: Getty)
“I mean, like I said, I didn’t necessarily get my right side of my back sort of treated, you know, after the French Open, because, you know, I have sort of, like all tennis players, we have degenerative sort of joints and stuff in the back, but it’s all predominantly been left-sided for me for pretty much, you know, my whole career. I have never had too many issues with the right side.
“So maybe there is something that, you know, can be done between now and then, you know, to help the right side. I will get scans tomorrow and get it rechecked and see if there’s anything that can be done.”
Murray was also asked whether the treatment could involve injections. “I don’t know exactly what it will be, because I don’t know exactly what the problem is,” he said. “I just know that this is not something – I hadn’t experienced that before. You know, I have had, like I said, dealing with the back pain today, yesterday, and for the last 10, 11 years of my career, but I have never experienced that before. So, you know, I don’t know what the procedure will be or what to expect, really.”
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