British tennis legend Andy Murray’s Wimbledon career has ended in tragedy. His match was called off before it had even started after his mixed doubles partner Emma Raducanu withdrew ‘due to stiffness in her wrist’.
Murray, who won the 76-year wait for a tennis Grand Slam in 2012, had planned to play his final matches with the 21-year-old England star in a culmination of his dazzling career.
The 37-year-old was forced to withdraw from the singles event on Monday with a back injury, much to the disappointment of many British fans, and lost in the first round of the men’s doubles event alongside his brother Jamie.
The Scottish star, who has won Wimbledon twice, is in grief after saying goodbye to the champion on Centre Court earlier this week, admitting it was now ‘too hard’ for him to continue playing.
Raducanu had previously spoken of her excitement about playing with Murray, saying it was her “dream” of a mixed doubles match.
She said in a statement: ‘Unfortunately I woke up this morning with a stiff feeling in my right wrist and as a result I have decided to take the difficult decision to withdraw from the mixed doubles tonight.
Andy Murray’s Wimbledon career is over after Emma Raducanu withdraws from mixed doubles
Andy Murray was visibly emotional as the crowd paid tribute to the star at Centre Court earlier this week
The British duo were due to compete together but Raducanu (right) has withdrawn due to pain in his wrist
The withdrawal means Murray’s final match at SW19 was his men’s doubles defeat to his brother Jamie earlier this week
“I’m disappointed because I was really looking forward to playing with Andy, but I had to be careful.”
Raducanu, who previously won the US Open, had previously said the scheduling of her match was “not ideal” as it coincided with England’s match against Switzerland in the quarter-finals of the 2024 European Championship.
The tennis star, pictured warming up in an England shirt in preparation for an earlier match, said yesterday: ‘The planning for this wasn’t ideal.
“It’s just a great opportunity to be able to play with him. It’s something I’m going to cherish.”
Murray is set to retire at the Olympics, but the All England Club chose the emotional moment with his brother to celebrate his legacy.
Sue Barker, who is stepping down as BBC Wimbledon presenter after 2022, returned to interview Murray on court, joking that she “couldn’t miss this”.
The 2012 Olympic hero had returned to the tournament just days after undergoing back surgery, making a courageous comeback in the hope of ending his SW19 career in style.
This comes at the end of a stunning sporting career, after he was ranked number one in the world for 41 weeks and won no fewer than three Grand Slam singles titles.
He also won the 2012 and 2016 Olympic Games with a landslide victory, making him the only male player to ever defend a gold medal in singles.
After his defeat earlier this week, Murray said: ‘It’s tough because I want to keep playing but I can’t. It’s too physically demanding now. I want to play forever.’
“I love this sport. It has given me so much, taught me so much. I don’t want to stop.”
Andy Murray during a training session yesterday, when he looked like a formidable competitor for today’s match
The Scottish star, who underwent back surgery two weeks ago, withdrew from his singles campaign but was still set to play his final mixed doubles match with Raducanu
Also in attendance were his wife Kim, his two eldest children, eight-year-old Sophia and six-year-old Edie, mother Judy and father William.
Murray was visibly emotional as he was shown a video featuring messages from Novak Djokovic and Rafael Nadal among others on Centre Court following his loss earlier this week.
Fans gave Murray a standing ovation as the British star wiped tears from his eyes during his on-field interview with Barker.
A number of tennis greats were also present, including Djokovic, Tim Henman, John McEnroe, Martina Navratilova and Lleyton Hewitt.
Murray spoke candidly about his Wimbledon victories, his Olympic gold medal and his defeat to Roger Federer in the 2012 final in his conversation with Barker.
“It’s always difficult to talk after a loss, especially after a Grand Slam final and at Wimbledon,” he said of the loss to Federer.
“That was the closest I’d ever been and it was obviously difficult. It was a pretty big moment in my career.
‘I’m not saying I’m the most outgoing or cheerful personality, but I think for the first time people saw how much I cared about the sport.
Sue Barker came out of retirement to lead tributes to Murray, 37, after his doubles defeat
Murray’s wife Kim and two of their children, eight-year-old Sophia and six-year-old Edie, were in the audience on Centre Court for his speech
Hundreds of fans gathered at Murray Mount earlier this week to watch the tributes on Centre Court
‘It was obviously an important match and an important moment in my career.’
A few weeks later, Murray took revenge for the painful defeat against Federer by beating the Swiss maestro on the same court to win Olympic gold in London 2012.
“It was absolutely the greatest week of my life up until then,” he added.
‘To be able to turn that around after losing the Wimbledon final and now be able to play here was one of the best days I’ve ever had, especially as an athlete.
“It was nice to be playing at Wimbledon in the Olympics on home soil, and to beat Roger for the first time in a big match. And I also did a great job in the mixed doubles with Laura Robson. So yeah, it was a great week for me.”
Raducanu will play her fourth-round match against Lulu Sun of New Zealand on Sunday. At this point, there is no indication that her wrist injury will rule her out of that match.
The 21-year-old defeated No. 9 Maria Sakkari to advance to the singles third round on Friday night and said of her doubles match with Murray: “It’s just a great opportunity to be able to play with him. It’s something I’m going to cherish.”
But Raducanu decided Saturday afternoon to be careful with her wrist, which she had surgery on last year.
After her second-round win, she was asked if she had any doubts about playing mixed doubles with Murray. “For me it was a no-brainer,” she replied. “On my team, they asked me, ‘Emma, are you sure you want to play? In case you’re still in the tournament.’ I said, ‘No-brainer.’”
There was clearly some uncertainty within her team about the prospect of playing three days in a row. Raducanu herself said after the win over Sakkari: ‘The scheduling of (the mixed) was not ideal.’
That was a reference to the fact that they had finished fourth on court 1 and that it would be an extremely late evening – hardly an ideal preparation for one of the biggest competitions of her life.
Murray looked emotional after his straight sets defeat to Jamie on Thursday
Centre Court paid tribute to the former world number 1 after defeat to John Peers and Rinky Hijikata
Raducanu said in a statement that she woke up with stiffness in her right wrist
This was widely seen as an attempt by the All England Club to ensure the match would not be timed to coincide with the England-Switzerland match at the 2024 European Championship.
Wimbledon, however, had little choice in the positioning of the match at the end of the day, as one of the British duo’s opponents, Marcelo Arevalo of El Salvador, had his first-round men’s doubles match called off due to rain on Friday and was scheduled to finish the match this morning. The schedule therefore had to give him plenty of rest between his two matches.
It certainly means Murray’s final Wimbledon match was his straight-sets first-round defeat to his brother Jamie in the men’s doubles on Thursday night, after which he took to the court to reflect on his career with Sue Barker.