Andy Murray's mum Judy responds to retirement rumours after Wimbledon refusal

15 July 2023 , 06:42

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Andy Murray's mum Judy responds to retirement rumours after Wimbledon refusal

Judy Murray has dismissed rumours of her son Andy retiring following his dramatic exit at Wimbledon.

After overcoming American Ryan Peniston in the first round at SW19, the endurable Scot then took fifth seed Stefanos Tsitsipas to the brink. In a match that spanned two days, Murray was 2-1 up in sets only for the fifth seed to fire back when play resumed, eventually taking a five set epic.

It is now six years since Murray, 36, made it into the second week at his home grand slam, a tournament he won in both 2013 and 2016. His return to top level tennis can be considered remarkable given the hip procedure he went through in 2019, but the defeat to the Greek star again fuelled speculation over his future.

After the clash, the three-time Grand Slam winner refused to elaborate on whether his loss to Tsitsipas represented his last dance on the grass of Wimbledon. It prompted fears from many fans that retirement was imminent.

But his greatest supporter has now moved to quell such talk. Mum Judy was in the stands for both of his matches at Wimbledon, and also watched eldest son Jamie in action as he partnered Michael Venus into the quarter finals of the men's doubles.

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“They [Andy and Jamie] still love it," she told The Telegraph. "They love the battle. They love the sport. I wouldn’t have imagined I’d still be going with them, but it’s what they want to do. And for as long as they want to do it they’ll keep going.

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Judy Murray reacts during Andy's second round match at Wimbledon (Dave Shopland/REX/Shutterstock)

"Who knows how much longer? But when you saw the performance Andy put up the other day against the world No 5 Stefanos Tsitsipas, when he’s got a metal hip and four kids, it’s unreal what he’s come through.”

The icon himself has previously spoken about the necessity to make post-career plans, without going as far as to give a timescale for when he walks away from the sport. Talking to British Airways High Life magazine, he said: "I’m looking for something I'm really passionate about and that I want to work really hard at to achieve a specific goal. One area that ticks that box is coaching, but not necessarily in tennis."

The US Open, the scene of Murray's inaugural Slam win back in 2012, gets underway in late August, with Murray yet to confirm his plans to participate. The Scot has managed his schedule in recent years, opting to again miss the French Open this year in order to prepare for Wimbledon.

Fraser Watson