British tennis star Andy Murray has officially declared he will not be playing in the Australian Open due to an ongoing hip injury he has been unable to recover from.
Since last summer’s Wimbledon the 3 time Grand Slam champ has not played in a competitive tennis match.
Murray told the press that he regrettably won’t be playing the Australian Open this year, stating that he is “not yet ready to compete”. He is now set to fly back to London from Australia so that he can “assess” the options he has for recovery.
Murray added that he appreciated all the supportive messages he has received regarding his injury and hopes to “be back playing soon”.
Earlier this week Murray made an emotional post on social media explaining how disheartening it was not to fully recover after 6 months of intense rehabilitation. Despite wishing to avoid surgery Murray conceded that it may be necessary at the end of the day.
Craig Tiley, the tournament director for the Australian Open said that the organisation was understanding of the struggle Murray has been going through, stating that he has “done everything possible” in order to prepare for the tournament.
Tiley went on to say that he personally understood this was a tough decision for Murray as he knows how much the player loves tennis.
Andrew Castle, former top British tennis player said in a radio interview that if Murray underwent surgery his career at the top level would be over. Castle conceded that he did not know the full extent of Murray’s injury.
Castle said that “generally” players who suffer these kinds of injuries never recover to play at the same level they once did. He said that the rehabilitation after surgery would mean Murray would spend even more time being inactive in the sport and that a full hip replacement would prevent him from performing at the same quality.
Murray slipped from number one to 16th in the player rankings after being beaten by Sam Querrey at Wimbledon last year. He attempted to make a return at the US Open but pulled out of the tournament just two days before it started.
Murray had planned to make a proper return at the Brisbane International tournament this week but withdrew from his match with Ryan Harrison 2 days prior.
The Australian Open is set to begin on January 15th. Australian fans are excited that their own Lleyton Hewitt is coming out of retirement to make his doubles comeback.